Through Our Eyes
by Dragonstar234
Summary: Humans see Pokemon as little animal like creatures. But when a Pokemon looks and another, it sees a humanoid that resembles the Pokemon that it is. Soul Silver/Heart Gold story told from the perspective of Kenji, the Growlithe. Rated M for some violence and language. Possible other reasons in the future
1. Prolog

"I don't get it James…" Lyra stood with her hands on her hips. The looming walls of Sprout Tower raised up around her and her Croconaw. Other than the Sage Nico, who now had left by now, the room was virtually empty.

"Craw?" James looked up at Lyra with a confused expression.

"Well I was hoping to find a Rattata or a Bellsprout, but I was only able to find Aaron." Lyra tapped her fingers on one of the four pokeballs that rested on the belt on her hips. "I needed a good grass type…"

"Craw." James tugged on Lyra's leg and pointed to the ladder a few steps away.

"Oh! You're right! We should keep moving. Maybe we will find something later on!" Lyra ran toward the ladder and climbed down it, continuing further into the sage-created maze.

Then a growl echoed out through the room she was entering. "A growl?" Lyra held out her arms. James jumped from the hole in the second floor down into her arms. "Nothing growls in Sprout Tower." Lyra looked at James.

An orange blur rushed past the two of them. James leapt from Lyra's arms, preparing to battle.

Lyra looked over and saw a Growlithe scratching frantically at a wall, trying to find a way out.

"What's a Growlithe doing in Sprout Tower? That would explain the lack of Bellsprout, huh James?"

James looked up at Lyra and nodded. "Craw!"

Lyra took out her pokedex and pointed it at the Growlithe. A quite beeping sound rung out as it programmed the pokemon in front of it. "Growlithe," it said in a computerized voice "The puppy pokemon. Type: Fire. Growlithe has a brave and trustworthy nature. It fearlessly stands up to bigger and stronger foes."

"Great!" Lyra said happily, pumping her fist in the air "I needed a good fire pokemon!" She checked her purse, looking to see if she had enough pokeballs. "Ten. That should work." She slung her purse back over her shoulder. "Okay! Go James! Lets catch this Growlithe!"

"Craw!" James ran forward.


	2. Chapter 1

I pushed my hands against the wall. Scratching, punching, kicking, and biting. Anything that I could try, I did. I just wanted out of this damn building. I wandered in, and then BOOM, I get lost and unable to find a way out.

I pressed my nose to the ground and sniffed around. There had to be some sort of way to find my way out. I sighed and stood up straight, scratching my ears with my clawed hands.

Then I hear a voice shouting. "Go James! Lets catch this Growlithe!" I turn and see a human trainer pointing at me. Running from behind her is who I assume is James. He was a Croconaw. He was about medium height. His skin was a dark, scaly blue. His lower jaw was yellow. His stomach was yellow too, with blue spots on it. He had spiky dark red hair atop his head. Red spikes went down his spine and continued to his tail, which protruded out of his lower back. His red eyes gleamed in the dim light.

"Holy shit!" I slammed my back against the wooden wall, scared to death.

"Try out your new move! Ice Fang!" The trainer happily yelled.

James smirked. A shiver went down my spine. This pokemon was going to kill me.

James jumped on to me and pinned me to the ground. "Arg! Get off me!" I brought up my claws and Scratched James, desperately trying to get the Pokemon off of me. James dug his teeth into my hand. An icy cold flowed through the veins in my hand. I gritted my teeth. The pain was slightly bearable.

I heard the trainer's voice in the background. "Of course! Ice doesn't do anything against Fire! Well let's hope its level is high enough!"

I pushed James off of me and came on top of him, holding his arms down. I dug my fangs into his shoulder, Biting him.

"James! Water Gun!" The trainer yelled.

James smirked again. "You're going to wish you never did that…" His voice was deep and sent shivers down my spine. I withdrew my teeth from his shoulder and looked down at him.

James took in a big breath of air through his mouth, and then held it. Then he breathed out, spewing water at me.

I yipped and flung myself off of James. The water burned my skin, searing off my fur in the spots it landed on. I howled and thrashed back and fourth, bumping into walls.

"Perfect James!" The trainer yelled. "Lets see if this works!"

I looked up in time to see her throwing a Pokeball at me. "Oh no…" I had heard horror stories from my pack about the cruelties of trainers. The forced battling. The constant pain and wounds. That was a life I didn't want. I whined when the ball hit me and fell on the floor. I was too weak to fight it off. I didn't have a chance.

I was enveloped in a red light. I suddenly felt sleepy. I was sucked into the Pokeball.

I struggled, trying to fight off the Pokeball and the sleepy feeling. My eyelids felt heavy. My limbs seemed harder to move. I finally shut my eyes and curled up. Just before sleep came and took me away, I heard a soft *ding* and a cheer from the happy trainer. I knew my life was as good as over.

**And the story has officially started! Thank you so much for reading this far ^-^ This is my first fan fiction so any feed back will be greatly appreciated! I hope you enjoyed! More will be up soon!  
**


	3. Chapter 2

"Okay! Lets see the team so far!"

I was thrust out of my sleep. A red light enveloped me and sent me out of my Pokeball.

I sat on my butt, looking around, tail waving curiously. I was in a Pokemon center, a trainer building. I have never been in one before. The room was very well lit, despite the darkness that came from out side. The room we were in was quite simple. It had a few couches, one of which had a trainer passed out on it. Then there was a counter, where a pink haired woman stood. She was in a white uniform that had a red cross on it. There was a worried young man handing her a handful of Pokeballs. She took them, smiling, and put them on a machine behind her.

My attention was drawn away from the nurse and trainer. I looked at _my_ trainer's team. James, who still looked as threatening as hell, clung to the trainer's side, a scaly arm around her waist. He looked down at the rest of the team with fierce eyes.

The next Pokemon was a Pidgeotto. She had a tall, thin figure. She had a brown feathery body with a yellow torso. Her feet were orange talons. Her hair was red, medium length, and slicked back. Her face was all brown, save for the spot around her nose and mouth, which was yellow. There was a black stripe that fell from her red eyes, back to her ears, then down to her chin. Huge, brown wings, with yellow tips, were folded up against her back. An orange and yellow feathered tail stuck out of her lower back.

The Pidgeotto was chatting happily with a Caterpie. The Caterpie looked young, with a small frame. Her torso, arms, and legs were all a pale yellow, while the rest of her body was a slick green. She had pale yellow circles running down her sides, all the way to the tip of her stubby tail. She had yellow circles around her black eyes. She had short, red hair with bangs that pointed up and made a 'V'.

The Caterpie and the Pidgeotto smiled and laughed as they talked to each other. It seemed like the two had know each other for quite some time.

The last Pokemon in _my _team was a Gastly. He sat far away from everyone, legs crossed, head in hands, simply watching everyone. His whole body was a smooth, dark purple. There was a light lavender colored smoke coming off of his body. Black, shaggy hair fell in his face. His eyes were almost completely white, save for the small black pupils. There were red lines that were around his eyes, giving him and angrier look. His eyes met mine, and he smiled, showing large fangs. I shuddered. This Gastly was almost more intimidating then James.

"Okay!" The trainer clapped her hands together happily. "We have Lynda" The Pidgeotto flashed a peace sign with her hand "Jay jay" The Caterpie bounced up and down on the balls of her feet "Aaron" The Gastly raised a single hand "James" The trainer patted James on his head. He looked up at her. I almost thought I saw a smile for a second. "And the newest recruit, Kenji!" The trainer held out an open hand towards me. I waved a shaky hand.

I have heard about Naming. It was something trainers tended to do. They would take away your birth name and give you some dorky name they came up with them selves. You weren't allowed to fight it though. You had to respond to the new name and pretend like you enjoyed it. Although, Kenji wasn't that bad of a name.

"So!" The trainer said. "The first gym battle will be with Falkner. He is flying type which means I will need Ice or Thunder." She wasn't talking to any of us any more. She seemed to be thinking out loud now. "But I can't just use James...I will need to level the others up..." And she was gone, deep in thought.

James looked up at the trainer and let go of her waist. "All of you! Listen up!" He raised his voice, even though he didn't have to. The only noise was coming from Lynda and Jay jay. Everyone looked his way, even Aaron. "If any of you hurt Lyra, be it mentally or physically," James lowered his voice so it now sounded like a growl "I will kill you!"

Lyra. So that was the name of my trainer.

Lynda laughed. "Please James! Don't threaten us. You have only been with Lyra a little longer than all of us. Just because you are her starter, doesn't mean you are special."

James came forward toward Lynda. He was only a little taller than her. The both of them looked deep into each others eyes. "Don't fuck with me Lynda." James said the words slowly, one at a time.

Lynda looked back at James. There was a strong tension between the two of them. It seemed like a fight would break out any moment.

"Okay! I figured out a plan!" Lyra announced happily. James quickly rushed back to her side, putting his arm back around her waist in a protective manner. He glared at Lynda, who simply smirked in his direction.

"Everyone, return!" Lyra threw four Pokeballs in the air. One by one, the team was surrounded in a red light and sent into their Pokeballs. That was, except for James. He never seemed to go into one. Was it because he was her 'starter'? Or simply because she liked him the best? I pondered this as the red light surrounded me, and lulled me to sleep.


	4. Chapter 3

"Well let me see your pokemon, and we will decide from there."

I was stirred from my sleep by the red light again. This time I came out in a different trainer building, a pokemart. Shelves lined the store and made isles into intricate mazes. The shelves were packed with bright colored materials, none of which I had seen before. Just the busyness of the items almost made my head spin.

I looked at the rest of my team. They all seemed pretty use to the sight. Except for Aaron, who seemed to be unsuccessfully looking for some shadows to hide in.

That's when I noticed a tall, dark haired man in a lab coat approach me. He held one hand to his chin and stroked it. He stared at me for a few minutes, making me extremely uncomfortable.

Finally he spoke up. "Even the new ones seem to have a sort of bond with you. You really must be a good trainer."

Neutral bond? I had only known Lyra for a small amount of time. It was true, I didn't hate her, and I wasn't afraid of her (James was a different story), but I didn't think I had any sort of bond with her yet.

"But I must ask. Elm said you had five pokemon when he last talked to you. I only see four. What happened to the other one?"

I looked around. Now that it was brought to my attention, I noticed Lynda was gone.

Lyra looked down. A tear ran down her cheek. "Hey, hey." James grabbed her soft hand in his scaly one and stroked it. "Don't cry," He whispered.

I knew Lyra couldn't understand James at all, but the fact that he was still trying to comfort her shocked me. Maybe he wasn't so heartless after all.

Lyra hugged James with one arm, then let go. "We were training and she got poisoned by a weedle." Lyra wiped her eyes with the back of her right hand. Her left one was holding on to James's clawed hand. "She didn't make it. I couldn't make it to a center in time and I didn't have any revives on me." She sniffed.

"I'm sorry." The man put a hand on Lyra's shoulder. James immediately tensed up, utterly hating the fact that the man was touching Lyra. "I can see that you do truly love your pokemon. So I will give you a gift."

Lyra looked up. The man reached in his lab coat and retrieved an egg, about the size of his head. It was white, with blue and red triangles on it. "Despair is always around when a pokemon is lost." He handed her the egg, "But a new hope always shines when a new pokemon is gained."

Lyra smiled through her tears. "Thank you," she said quietly. She took the egg and cradled it in her arms.

"I don't think I have to remind you to take good care of that egg. Both Professor Elm and Mr. Pokemon trust you with it, so you must be a good match."

"Thank you again sir." Lyra waved as the man left. She smiled and gently tucked the egg into her purse. "Okay team. Time to retu-"

James placed a hand on her pokeball belt and shook his head. Lyra looked down at him. Some sort of communication was being passed between the two of them. How could he communicate with her so well without the use of words?

Lyra smiled. "You're right James." James took his hand off her belt, without any change in facial expression. "You are all walking with me!" Lyra said happily. It was good to see her back to her cheery self. Depression didn't fit her well. "Just don't wander off too far!" She wagged a finger in our direction.

She stepped toward the doors and they slid open, reveling the outside world of Violet City. The sun lit up the town, and left a shining reflection off of the water. Sprout Tower loomed high over the city. I tried to not look in its direction.

I ran forward and caught up with Jay jay. "Is it true?" I asked her "I mean about Lynda. Is she really gone?"

Jay jay looked at me with large, sad, black eyes. "Yeah." She tilted her head to one side "We will all miss her. That is except for James. Asshole probably wanted her to die!" Jay jay threw a glare in James's direction. He was walking next to Lyra, holding her hand.

"Is he always...?"

"A jerk? Unemotional? Harsh? As long as I have known him, yes. But Lynda knew him longer. I think that is why she wasn't afraid of him." Jay jay looked down at her feet while she walked. "She even had a disadvantage with types and she still wasn't afraid of him."

Jay jay looked like she was about to cry. I didn't think I could handle any more crying so I changed the subject. "What about Aaron? Do you know anything about him?" I pointed over my shoulder towards Aaron, who was keeping a decent distance between us and him. "He always seems so...anti-social."

"Most gastly are like that." Jay jay waved her hand in a dismissive way "Although I wish he wasn't so quite. He's handsome." She looked over her shoulder at Aaron, who was looking everywhere else but at her.

We were out of the city now. Trees were sprouting up all around us. "Well why don't you go talk to him?"

"Huh?! Me? Oh no! That would never work!" She spoke quickly, looking away. She was trying to hide the red blush that appeared on her green cheeks.

I looked back at Aaron, who was now walking under the trees, enjoying the shadows. My tail flicked with annoyance. "Oh don't be such a wimp!" I grabbed her and pushed her in his direction.

She landed against him, her hands on his chest. He brought his arms to her shoulders. "Are you okay?" He asked. It was the first time I heard him speak. His voice was gentle and calm, definitely one I didn't expect him to have.

Jay jay quickly removed herself from his arms. "Yeah! Yea! Fine! I'm fine!" She tried to quickly walk forward. She gave me a look of extreme hatred.

Aaron's dark hand fell on her shoulder. "You were... Jay jay. Right?" He asked.

"Y-yes." Jay jay stammered.

I smiled. I would leave the two alone and see how they end up later on. I looked forward. Lyra was talking to a man, who seemed to be giving her an item. James was behind her scanning the surroundings. I decided sooner would be better.

"Hey James!" I waved my hand and walked towards him.

"What do you want?" He looked down at me, those red eyes boring deep into my fur.

"Well, uh, nothing in particular. Just trying to get to know the team better." I tried to smile, hoping he wouldn't sense the fear that was hiding behind it.

He smirked. "I don't talk much. You won't learn anything by trying to talk to me." He gave me an angry glare.

"Whoa man." I put my hands flat out in front of me. "No need for the harshness."

"I'm not being harsh. I'm being truthful!"

I gulped. I either needed a subject to come up quick, or to run away. Then an idea popped into my head. "What is a 'starter'?" I asked, truly curious.

James looked at me with a dumbfounded expression. He tilted his head back and let out a deep laugh. I was taken aback for a second. "You don't know what a starter is?! Are you really that clueless?!"

I looked down at my feet. Was it really common knowledge? I felt embarrassed that I didn't know. "I just didn't know much about trainers and all..." I said quietly.

"A starter is the first pokemon a trainer picks when they start their journey. A starter always has the strongest bond with their trainer. A starter is also the most special pokemon in the team because they were hand-picked by the trainer!" James had a smug look on his face.

This one was really cocky, that was for sure. I was about to say something about that when Lyra's voice rang out. "Come on guys!" She was already a little ahead of us, roaming around in the tall grass.

James growled at me. "Look what you did! You distracted me! I was suppose to be protecting her! What if something happened?!" He snapped at me. He didn't wait for my response. He took off until he was at his usual position next to Lyra.

I stood there, dumbfounded. Jay jay and Aaron came up next to me. "What was that all about?" She asked.

**Thank you to everyone who has keep reading this! It means a lot to me that you were willing to just get this far :) Feedback is always good!**

**Also, thanks to Farla for leaving the first review! **


	5. Chapter 4

"A hoppip!" Lyra pointed forward, excited. The pokemon had a short, fat, full pink body. Bight yellow eyes were almost covered by the spiky green hair, that pointed in every direction. Pink ears pointed from the hair. "Should I catch it?" She asked.

James shook his head. "You're right. I guess I don't need it. It is pretty usless. Okay. Go Jay jay!"

Jay jay ran forward, and stood defensively next to Lyra. The hoppip now noticed them, and was starting to move closer. It was trying to look threatening, but something about that idiotic, blank look on its face made it impossible.

"Jay jay, use Tackle!" Lyra pointed forward. Jay jay nodded and ran forward, throwing herself on to the hoppip.

The hoppip, unfazed, gently blew on Jay jay. A light yellow pollen came out of its mouth. Jay jay froze.

"Oh no! Not Stun Spore!" Lyra slapped her hand to her face "Jay jay! Try to use Bug Bite!"

Jay jay struggled, but she was able to quickly thrust her head forward and get her teeth into the hoppip. The hoppip seemed unfazed at first, but then a pulse rippled through its body. It let out a high pitched squeal and began to thrash about. Then it lay still. Its body was consumed by a red light that then floated towards Jay jay, sinking into her body.

"Yeah!" Jay jay leaped up and pumped her fists in the air. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aaron smiling.

Suddenly, a white light surrounded Jay jay. "Oh! Evolution!" Lyra chirped excitedly.

I don't know if Lyra heard the cries of pain, but I did. The agonizing screams that burst out as Jay jay's body twisted and contorted.

When the white light dissipated, Jay jay was on her hands and knees, breathing heavily. Her body was almost completely surrounded by a thick, light green armor, save for a few spots where a soft, dark green skin poked out. Her dark green hair fell in a swoop, covering her right eye.

Lyra happily popped out her Pokedex and pointed it at Jay jay. "Metapod" it said "The cocoon pokemon. Type: Bug. Inside the shell, metapod is soft and weak as it prepares to evolve. It stays motionless in the shell."

Jay jay had just started to catch her breath when the light started surrounding her again. "Oh no..." I heard her whisper.

"What is...?" I began to ask.

"Double Evolution." I heard Aaron's voice from behind me "If you level up too much from one battle, you will have a Double Evolution. It would make sense why you don't know about it, seeing as your kind only evolves once."

"Is she going to be okay?" I asked. Jay jay's screams echoed in my ears. The white light completely surrounded her, making it impossible to see her body as it changed. But her screams could be heard. And they were a sound I would never forget.

When the light faded, Jay jay was laying on her stomach. Her body was longer and thinner. Her whole torso was a deep purple, her arms and legs were a light blue. Her hair, the same blue, fell down to her waist. Huge white and black wings sprouted out of her shoulder blades.

Lyra held her Pokedex forward. "Butterfree. The butterfly pokemon. Type: Bug, Flying. In the wild, it collects honey everyday. It rubs honey onto the hair on its legs to carry it back to its nest."

Aaron rushed forward, past me. "Jay jay?" I stood shocked. James looked unfazed.

Aaron rolled Jay jay over. Her lips were a light blue. When her red eye lids fluttered open, one could see what a deep red her eyes were.

"You okay?" Aaron asked.

Jay jay showed a faint smile. She brought herself to her knees, unable to get any higher. Then with a massive flap of her wings, her thin frame was brought into the air, and she gently landed on her feet. "I think I could get use to having wings," she said, smiling slightly.

Jay jay's knees shook and she lost her balance, falling forward. Aaron caught her in his arms. "Your HP is pretty low. And the evolutions didn't help much either. You shouldn't battle anymore."

Jay jay smiled. "I guess your right."

I looked back at James, who still seemed utterly unfazed. I walked over to him. "Weren't you at least a little worried?"

"Why should I be? I've evolved before. Yeah, it hurts like hell, but that's only at first. She will get over it." He rolled his eyes over to Jay jay, who was still struggling to get to her feet, even with Aaron's help. "Weakling," he muttered under his breath.

"Hey! She has low health! What do you expect?! Everyone can't be as perfect as you!" I pushed James.

He tilted his head back and laughed. "Well, someone sure has a short fuse."

"You're being an asshole!"

James lowered his voice and brought his face close to mine. His piercing red eyes seemed to look into me. "You're being idiotic."

I growled and Scratched across his face, giving him a bloody gash across his cheek. "You're being insensitive!"

James brought a clawed hand up to his face and felt the gash. Red blood stained his blue scales. Anger filled his eyes. He drew in a breath, and I imminently felt fear. But instead of spewing water at me, a single bubble escaped his lips and floated towards me.

I watched it, almost with pity, and it came towards me. It landed on my shoulder and popped. I howled. My fur seared off and my skin began to peal away where the bubble landed. I threw my hand up and tried to cover the wound, hoping to decrease the pain, but it only seemed to get worse.

"James! Kenji! What are...? Break it up!" It was the first time I heard Lyra angry. I felt guilty.

James reacted too. His tail hung limply and he kept his eyes one the ground.

"Are you two fighting?!" Lyra came stomping over to us. She took James's head in her hand and examined the scratch. She came over to me, pried my hand off my shoulder, and looked at my burn. "You two are suppose to be on a team! It means get along!"

I looked down at my feet. James looked up at Lyra with wide eyes. "No James! Don't give me that!" Lyra turned away.

"I have the items to heal both of you..." My face lit up. An escape from the pain! "But neither of you are going to get them! You will suffer with the wounds you gave each other until we reach the next center!"

My smile faded. How long was that going to be!? James threw an angry glare in my direction, baring his teeth. "This is your fault!" I heard his growl.

The blood that streamed from his cheek matched the color of his eyes. It seemed to make him even more threatening. I held my ground though. He would not know I was afraid.

I looked up at Lyra who was now spraying a potion on Jay jay, who perked up almost as soon as the substance hit her skin.

I sighed. My shoulder throbbed.


	6. Chapter 5

I was afraid to battle at first. Seeing everyone else battle, didn't make it any easier. Jay jay was almost too fast for her body. She would zip around the foe, causing confusing and disorientation. She would combine Flying, Physic and Bug moves, causing the foe to not be completely sure about her type.

James would use brute force. His Ice Fang took down Flying and Grass, while his Water Gun took down Rock and Ground. He would use Scratch or Bite to take down anything else that stood in his way.

And Aaron, oh Aaron had a plan. He used the same three moves in a row, but was always able to take down the enemy no matter the level. His main advantage was his speed. He had the enemy defeated so quickly, even Lyra was shocked by it. Before the enemy even thought about their move, he would raise his fingers to his temples and close his eyes. Within seconds, the foe would be fast asleep on the ground. He would then stick out his tongue. Resting on his tongue would be a long, thin needle. Without hesitation, Aaron would remove the needle from his tongue and jam the needle into his chest. He would wince, but recover quickly. The foe's chest would start to bleed. He had successfully Cursed them. He would then mosey over to the sleeping foe, kneel by them, and place a hand on each temple. He would close his eyes, and suck the life force out of the sleeping enemy. Dream Eater, Lyra called it. The foe would be dead before they even got a chance to attack.

I soon figured out though, that I had a knack for fighting too. It wasn't as hard as it seemed. My trainer really knew what she was doing, and if I just listened to her, things would work out. She usually always sent me out to battle Grass types, and never to fight Water types. Ember became one of my most used moves, other than Bite.

We slowly made out way down the route. I thought it would never come, but when I saw it, I was truly happy. A center. It was out in the middle of nowhere, but Lyra said they always had a center before a cave.

It was nearly night time when we reached the center. Everyone was exhausted. Lyra only brought us into our pokeballs for a second to heal us, then let us out again.

"We are going to stay the night here. I have enough money for a room from the last gym battle," She told us "We will get moving in the morning. I'm just a little scared to travel at night." She had a frightened look on her face as she looked out the window.

When I woke up, it was still dark outside. I had been curled up comfortably on the floor, but simply couldn't sleep anymore. Lyra was passed out on her bed. Aaron and Jay jay were sleeping on the floor, back to back. Jay jay's wings curled around the front of her body, providing her with what would have been a natural shelter in the wild.

Then it hit me. James wasn't in the room. My tail twitched inquisitively. Where could he have gone? Not very far, I assumed. He would never leave Lyra.

I peaked around the corner before leaving the room, making sure no one would see me. The only person who was awake was the nurse, always alert to help trainers who needed her. Except, she wasn't exactly alert. She was half asleep behind the counter, barely keeping her eyes open, with her head propped up in her hands. I was able to sneak past her quite easily. The doors of the center opened with a silent _voosh_, and then closed behind me.

I had to push though a thick network of trees to find him. He wasn't too far from the center. He sat on the edge of a small cliff. Beneath him, the sea met up with the land. He was looking out at the full moon reflecting off of the water.

I sat down next to him. He didn't look at me, change his expression, or even move at all. He just kept staring out to sea. "Miss your old home?" I asked.

James's eyes looked sad for a moment, but then he blinked, and it was gone. "Don't have one."

"Oh..."

There was a silence.

"You're lucky, ya know?"

I looked at James. He didn't look at me. I let my eyes drift out back to the sea. "How?" I asked.

"You had a life before all of this. You had a pack, a family, and memories. You were free. Wild and free." He paused. "I wish I had a chance to live like that before all of this happened."

"What do you mean? How did you never have a life before this?"

James smiled. It was a sad smile, but I could still tell he was making fun of me. "I keep forgetting how clueless you are about the trainer world." His smile faded. "I was born in a daycare. By the time I hatched from my egg, I was already in the professor's care. He didn't even train me. I just had to sit there, waiting for someone to pick me. It was quite sad, actually."

I leaned backwards, and fell back on the grass. I looked up at the stars. These were much more interesting when compared to the sea. They couldn't hurt me like water could. Plus, they were like giant fire balls in the sky. What could possibly be better than that? "So you don't like being on this adventure with Lyra?"

"Don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy this, and I care for Lyra with all my heart. I just wish...that I could have been myself at least once, before I had to be totally different for someone else, ya know?"

"Wild and free?"

"Yeah, wild and free..."

I sat back up and looked at James. His red eyes seemed to let out a faint glow in the dark. The gash on his cheek was illuminated by the dim light. It didn't look as bad as it had when I first gave it to him, but I could tell it wasn't going to heal very well. It had high chances of scaring.

I brushed my finger tips against his face until they reached his cut. I left them there. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

James raised a scaled hand and put it on my shoulder. He brushed his fingers though my fur until he found the small circle where it had been singed off. My skin was bubbling in an attempt to heal. He kept his blue hand on my shoulder, while I kept my orange one on his face. And together we sat like that for who knows how long.

Finally, my fingers slid from his cheek. He slowly removed his hand from my shoulder. He stood up. "I'm gonna go back to sleep." He started to walk away. He paused. Without turning around, he said, "Thanks for listening." And then left.

I stayed out, watching the waves as they crashed up against the land beneath me. I drew my feet back from the edge when a splash nearly hit them. How could he possible find this place comforting? I mean, I know he is Water type and all, but wouldn't it just depress him more? Wouldn't it be a constant reminder of the home he never had?

I combed threw the fur on my torso with my hand. And what was up with all the emotional stuff? Why was he a bitter ass during the day, but deep and emotional at night?

I got up, and headed back to the center. In the room, everyone was still asleep. James was now curled up at the foot of Lyra's bed. His eyes were shut, but I could tell by his breathing that he wasn't completely asleep yet. I curled back up on the floor, trying to fall asleep again. But sleep never came again that night.


	7. Chapter 6

"Okay team! Ready to take on Union Cave?!" Lyra jumped up happily. The team responded, less enthusiastically, with a nod of their heads and a small grunt of agreement. "Oh don't be such party poopers!" Lyra laughed. I groaned.

Union cave was a simple maze with the occasional trainer. It seemed like we had to stop every five seconds because a zubat or geodude would attack us. We got through the cave pretty quickly though. Lyra mostly used James and his Water Gun to take down mostly everything in the cave. She would use me, Jay jay, or Aaron on the occasional rattata that showed up.

When we exited the cave, it was pouring rain. "Great," I grumbled. I found shelter under the trees, and kept there as we walked. The rest of the team seemed unfazed by the rain. James, as a matter of fact, seemed to love it. When we first left the cave, he held out his hands and let the rain fall on it. I almost saw a smile.

"Guys! Check these out!" Lyra ran forward happily. Two oddly shaped trees stood next to each other in a clearing. One was covered in pink berries, while the other one had black ones on it. "Apricorns!" Lyra picked a few pink ones from the tree. "Come on guys, try one." She handed us each one.

I stared at the berry in my hand with bewilderment. "What is it?"

"An apricorn. You should try it. They are pretty good," Aaron told me. He popped one in his mouth and chewed happily.

I looked mine all over, then slowly took a bite out of it. "Wow! That's amazing!" I tossed the rest of the berry in my mouth.

Lyra had taken a small, plastic, orange box out of her purse and was filling it with the two kinds of apricorns. "This is actually really good," She told James, who was sitting beside her, slowly nibbling on his apricorn. "Kurt, the pokeball maker, is in the next town. They say you can trade him apricorns for pokeballs!"

Lyra looked forward, towards where the trees narrowed, and a dirt path started. "Speaking of next town, I think Azalea Town is right around the corner!" She took off running "Come on guys!"

James quickly got up and rushed so he was next to Lyra. He then ran at a steady pace that matched hers. Aaron and Jay jay were behind them. I grumbled, trying to find a way to get around without going in the rain. Finally, I ran, ears flat against my head, hating every second of it, until I caught up with them.

By the time we reached Azalea Town, the rain had stopped. Standing at the edge of the town, two men were arguing. One was an average, old, balding citizen. The other was a young man, dressed in all black. His hair was a deep purple. There was a red 'R' on the front of his shirt.

"I said back off!" The young man pushed the balding citizen away. The citizen stumbled back, terrified, then ran away. The young man walked over to the entrance of a well, and stood guard.

"What's that all about?" Lyra turned to James. He shrugged. "Well, never mind that. Lets stop by the center first. Then we will visit Kurt and then take on the gym!" Lyra took off running again.

We entered a house near the back of the city. Inside, there was a little girl sitting on a chair swinging her legs back and fourth, while she watched an old man rush around frantically.

"Uh... Is Kurt here?" Lyra asked.

The old man froze and looked at her. "You a part of Team Rocket?"

"Team...who?"

I looked at other members of the team. They all shrugged their shoulders.

"Team Rocket! They are...! Well never mind who they are! I gotta go! I gotta go save the Slowpokes!" And with that, he was out the door.

"Uhhhhh..." Lyra turned to the little girl. "What just happened?"

"Grandpa Kurt is off to go save the pokemon from Team Rocket." The little girl jumped down from her chair. "I just hope he doesn't hurt himself. He's so old!"

Lyra got down on her knees so she was on the girl's level. "If you tell me where your grandfather is going, I will make sure he doesn't get hurt."

The girl's face lit up. "Ohhh thankyouthankyouthankyou!" The girl threw her arms around Lyra's neck and gave her a hug. "He went off to Slowpoke Well. It's near the front of the town."


	8. Chapter 7

All five of us stood in front of a small well, with a ladder that went down into its dark depths. Lyra hesitated a bit. James took her by the hand. She looked down at him and he nodded. "You're right James. I need to be brave!"

Lyra climbed down the ladder. She held her hands out at the bottom. One by one, we jumped down. She caught us in her arms, and then put us down on the floor. That is, except for Jay jay, who just slowly fluttered down into the well.

Lyra looked around and immediately found Kurt, lying on his back, groaning. "Are you okay!?" Lyra leaned down and helped him up.

"Yea, yea," Kurt grumbled, rubbing his back. "I took a tumble down the well. Guess I was too anxious to save the Slowpokes." Kurt looked at Lyra hard. "I'm not as young as I use to be. I don't think I could stop Team Rocket even if I tried. Will you go into the well and save the Slowpokes?"

"Save them from who?" Lyra was still slightly confused.

"Team Rocket, you scatterbrained child! Team Rocket is cuttin' off the Slowpoke's tails and sellin' them for a fortune! Every one know a Slowpoke can't evolve without it's tail!"

"Well, you can count on me!" Lyra pointed to herself. "But in the mean time, you need to get back to your granddaughter. She is worrying about you."

Kurt started to climb the ladder. "Damn child. I told her not to worry..."

Lyra turned to us. "Jay jay, Aaron, Kenji, James...ready to go?"

We all nodded.

"Okay! Let's do this!"

As soon as we entered the next room, we encountered the same man we saw when we first entered the town. He immediately noticed us. "Hey! Kid! What are you doing down here?" He shouted at Lyra.

"Hey!" Lyra sounded annoyed "You're a kid too!"

"That's beside the point." The young man waved his hand dismissively. "You need to leave. This town is now under Team Rocket's authority."

"Not if I can help it."

The young man looked annoyed. He reached to his belt and threw a pokeball. "Go rattata!" He yelled.

"Go get it James," Lyra whispered, and James jumped forward.

"Rattata! Quick Attack!" The rattata was a small-framed female. Her torso, hands and feet were pale. So was the area around her mouth. The rest of her body was a light purple, including her curly tale. Small, round ears poked out of her long hair. She wasn't intimidating at all, but she was fast.

The rattata came running towards James at full speed, focused hard. James waited until the last second, then simply moved out of the way. The rattata came to a skidding stop, looking around confused.

"James! Water Gun!" James sucked in his breath, then spewed water out from his mouth. The rattata was throw against the wall by the force of the attack, then fell crumpled to the ground. James's attacks seemed to be getting stronger. If he used that move on me now, I had better hope Lyra has a revive on her.

"Crap! Rattata! Return!" The body of the rattata was engulfed by a red light, and sucked into its pokeball.

"You watch out!" The young man pointed a shaky finger in out direction. "Proton will take you down!" He then bolted past us, and ran out of the well.

"Good job James!" Lyra patted James on his head. "But there must be more down her, from what that guy just said. So lets keep moving."

It was strange. There were no wild pokemon at all in the cave. It must have been because of Team Rocket, but it still felt wrong. We met another grunt along the way who said he "Was just following orders" when we defeated him.

At the end of the cave, we found two Slowpokes, laying on their bellies. Their pink bodies were battered and bruised, and there was a bloody stump on their lower backs. Standing next to them was another member of team rocket. He was also dressed in all black. His knee high boots and elbow high gloves were white. Green hair poked out from under his black hat. When we approached him, he spoke up.

"Well what do we have here? I am often labeled as the scarcest executive of Team Rocket. I would leave if I were you," He said.

"But you aren't me," Lyra spoke up. She looked angry. Seeing the sight of the Slowpokes must have infuriated her.

The man's face twisted with anger. "I will make you resent the day you messed with me, Proton! Go zubat!"

Proton threw a pokeball forward. A short, all blue pokemon came out. It had no eyes. Blue and purple wings sprouted out of its upper back. Blue and purple ears protruded out of its hairless head.

"Go James!"

The zubat didn't even get a chance to move. "James, Bite!" James thrust forward and dug his teeth into the zubat's neck. It crumpled beneath him.

Proton let out a noise that sounded like a growl. "Return zubat! Go koffing!" He threw another pokeball forward.

The koffing was all purple. Its body was slightly chubby. It had a skull and crossbones pattern on its stomach. It floated off the ground. A thick, brown, toxic smoke floated around it.

"Go Kenji!" That was my cue. I lept forward. "Kenji, Ember!"

I pressed my lips together and blew out a fire ball. It landed on the koffing. The koffing flailed its arms, trying to put the fire out. It finally got the flame to subside. It looked ticked.

"Koffing! Smokescreen!"

The koffing blew a thick dark smoke from its mouth. It filled the room, and made it impossible to see anything. I heard Lyra's voice. "Kenji, use Bite!"

I listened. My ears twitched. It was somewhere around in this smoke, I just had to find it. Then I heard something. Nothing major, just a shift in the air. I took a chance and lunged forward. I dug my teeth into hard purple flesh.

The smoke immediately subsided. The koffing lay beneath me.

"Humph! Koffing, return." The koffing was taken away by the red light. "Team Rocket may have been broken up before, but we will not let it happen again. A small idiotic obstacle like you won't make a difference. You should be afraid of what is to come if you keep messing with us." And with that, he was gone.

Lyra looked at all of us. "Good job you guys." She gave us each a nod. "Lets stop by Kurt's and make sure he got back home safely.

"Well, I sure am glad that adventure is over." I stretched my arms out as we walked.

"Oh Kenji, that was only the first adventure of many. There are going to be plenty more. Trust me." Aaron laughed at me.

"How do you know?"

"He had Future Sight," Jay jay peeped in. "He can see into the distant future."

"Well, what is going to happen?"

"Can't talk about it." Aaron shook his head.

"Why not?!"

"It's a rule." Jay jay sighed. "I've tried to get him to talk about it too, but he won't."

"I would loose my Future Sight if I talked about what is to come," Aaron said.

"Well that's pretty lame," I grumbled.

"Only for others." Aaron shrugged.

I looked forward. James was walking next to Lyra. It seemed like he was back to his old self. I didn't know if that was a good thing, or a bad thing. At least he hadn't been rude at all today.

"Oi! Idiots! Are you gonna hurry up or what?! We haven't got all day!" Yep. He was diffidently back to his old self.

The three of us ran to catch up with them.


	9. Chapter 8

"You showed great bravery down there. I would like to give you a sort of reward, but all I have is this." Kurt held out his hand to Lyra. In his palm was different type of pokeball. A fast ball. It looked almost identical to a pokeball, but it had a yellow lighting bolt on the top and yellow circles on either side that continued in to the bottom half.

"Thank you," Lyra said, taking the ball and putting it into her purse "Anything counts." She smiled.

"Well in that case, if you ever need more pokeballs, I will be willing to make you some with any apricorns."

"Oh! That's right! I picked some before I came here!" Lyra dug through her purse and pulled out the small orange container. She pulled off the lid. "Here." She handed him a handful of the black apricorns.

"These will make you heavy balls. It will take a day or so to make them. So stop by later, and I will give you the result."

"Okay." Lyra was happy "I should be going then. I have a gym to challenge."

"Good luck." Kurt waved at us as we left his house.

"Okay. So the next leader is Bugsy. Which means...I am going to have to mostly use you, Kenji."

I looked up at Lyra with wide eyes. Did she really think I could take down a gym?! James was able to take down the last one, but that's totally different! He is much stronger than me! There was no way I could do this!

"Oh, don't be afraid." Lyra patted me on the head. "Bug is weak against Fire. You will be just fine."

I froze, and watched Lyra as she continued towards the center. Did she really just pick up my feelings? I had just reached the level of communication that her and James have. Did that mean we were starting to bond more? I ran to catch up with her as she walked towards the center.

Fighting in the gym wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was a higher level than all the trainers, so that gave me a huge advantage. With the occasional help of James, we got to the leader pretty quickly. But now I was really frightened. The leader was much stronger than the trainers. Would I be able to take him down?

Bugsy was at the very back of the gym. He was just a little kid, probably no older than Lyra. He had purple hair and was dressed in all green. "Welcome to the Azalea Town gym. I'm Bugsy. Be prepared. My Bug types never fail me."

"I am very prepared." Lyra stood her ground.

Bugsy threw a pokeball. "Go scyther!"

"This is Flying and Bug. Go James! Clip his wings with Ice Fang!"

The scyther was a tall, thin male covered in light green armor, with thin, pale wings coming out of its back. It was much quicker than James, even in his higher level. "Quick Attack scyther!"

The Scyther lunged forward and tackled James. James didn't skip a beat. He dug his teeth into the Scyther's arm. It was a critical hit. The Scyther was out almost instantly.

Bugsy groaned. "Return scyther. Go metapod!"

"Metapod. Okay. Its your turn. Go Kenji!"

I stepped forward. I looked at this metapod and it reminded me of Jay jay. I remembered seeing her on her hands and knees in pain. I didn't know if I could attack.

That was when I heard Jay jay's voice behind me. "There is a big difference, Kenji. That Metapod isn't even close to me. Kick its butt!"

I nodded.

"Kenji, Ember!"

I shot a fireball at the metapod. It was motionless, not even its facial expression changed. But it did actually survive the attack.

"Metapod, Harden!" The metapod closed its eyes. A shine passed over its armor. I could almost see it getting thicker.

"Kenji! Use Ember again!" I shot another fireball. This one took out the metapod completely.

"Return metapod. Go kakuna!" Bugsy threw his last pokeball forward.

Kakuna was kind of like Metapod. It's whole body was covered in an armor, but this time it was a gold color. It had dark gold hair that was slicked back. It stood still, staring at me with its black eyes.

"Ember one more time!" I spat the fireball forward. And that was the end of it. The kakuna was out, and Bugsy was defeated.

Bugsy sounded kind of bummed. "Awww that was the end of it. Well you were pretty good. Almost an expert on pokemon. Here, take this badge." He held out a circular, grey badge, with three dark grey spots on it. "You deserved it."


	10. Chapter 9

"Next stop, Ilex Forest," Lyra said as we left the center. "Are you guys up to it, or should we stop for the day?"

"Well?" James asked.

"I could keep going all night," I said.

"I'm ready," Jay jay said.

Aaron nodded.

James looked up at Lyra and nodded. "Okay then guys! Lets go!" She walked forward, with a little bounce in her step. She was filled with much confidence from wining the gym battle.

We were close to the Ilex Forest entrance, when a red-headed boy, the same age as Lyra, stopped us. "Tell me something..." he started, "Is it true Team Rocket has returned?"

"Yep! And I beat them. Chased them out of this town." Lyra smirked. I had never seen her like this. It was if she was getting competitive with this boy.

"What? You beat them?" The boy burst out laughing. "Quit lying!"

"I'm not lying!" Lyra said with her hands on her hips.

"You're serious? Fine. Lets see how good you actually are." The boy smiled. "Go gastly!"

Lyra smiled too. "Go James!"

Aaron shuddered at the sight of the other gastly. "It's kind of creepy to see a pokemon that looks exactly like you."

"Actually," Jay jay spoke up "You too look nothing alike. That gastly, it seems to have a...well, a more harsh or evil aura surrounding it. I think it has to do with the trainer."

"James! Bite!" James leaped forward and dug his teeth into the gastly. Almost immediately, it was out.

"Pathetic." The red headed boy muttered. "Go bayleef!"

"Go Kenji!" I stepped forward.

The bayleef had an all yellow body, including her short tail. Green buds encircled her neck. Green hair flowed down her back. Leafs were entangled in her hair, almost blending in with it.

"Bayleef, Poison Powder!" One on the buds on its neck opened up. A purple powder was in it. The bayleef scooped some out in its hand, and blew it in my direction. I started coughing and feeling oozy.

"It's okay Kenji, use Ember." I regained my composure enough to launch a fireball. It struck the bayleef. The fire died out almost instantly.

The boy laughed. "You're growlithe's level is way too low, it won't do any damage!"

"Kenji, come back." I held my hands to my head, trying to keep my self steady as I walked back behind Lyra. "Go James!" James stepped forward again.

The boy chuckled. "Are you kidding me? A Grass against a Water? If you keep fighting like this, I am going to win."

Lyra smiled. "Ice Fang." She told James. The boy's smile disappeared.

"Use Reflect!" The boy yelled frantically. A glass like wall appeared in front of the bayleef. James ran straight into it. It shattered like glass. He lunged forward and dug his teeth into the bayleef's neck. It fell backwards, badly hurt, but still moving.

"Scratch!" Lyra yelled. James brought his claws down onto the bayleef's chest.

The boy scoffed. "Bayleef, return! Go zubat!"

"Your turn Jay jay!" Jay jay stepped forward. "Use Stun Spore!"

Jay jay flapped her wings. A fine yellow powder came off of them and landed on the zubat. The zubat instantly stopped moving. Occasionally, a yellow spark with flicker across its body.

"Zubat! Use Wing Attack!" The zubat tried to move, but it couldn't. It was paralyzed.

"Finish it off with Confusion!" Jay jay closed her eyes. The zubat stared with fear. Its eyes grew wide. A violent pulse seemed to flow through out its body. It fell over, finished.

"Tsk! Weak! Return!" The boy looked utterly angry. He sighed. "I hate the week. Pokemon, trainers. It doesn't matter who or what. I hate them for hanging around. That goes for Team Rocket, too. They think they are big and tough as long as they are in a group. But get them alone and they are weak. I hate them all." He looked at Lyra. "You stay out of my way. You won't be an exception!" He pushed past her and continued into the forest.

Lyra sighed. "Come on, lets make another trip to the center."

As we kept walking, I felt worse and worse. It seemed like my life was being drained with each step. I feared we wouldn't make it to the center in time, but we did. I breathed a sigh of relief when it happened.

**Sorry, I didn't get a chance to update yesterday. I will try to keep a steady pace of putting up a chapter a day.**


	11. Chapter 10

We entered the Ilex Forest. Trees towered over us, creating a natural maze. Bug pokemon flew overhead, their buzzes being heard from the ground. The forest its self seemed to be completely empty of people.

"Well, lets do this. Be aware Kenji. You will be used for battles since you are effective against bugs," Lyra said.

I smiled and nodded. I couldn't help but feel like I was wanted. _Needed_ almost.

Only the occasional bug crossed out path. Most sensed the strong levels and kept their distance.

"So who was that boy?" I asked Jay jay.

She shrugged her shoulders. "A rival, I think. I haven't been here that long." Her gaze drifted over to James. "He would probably know. Ask him, if you dare."

I looked at James and groaned. I wasn't in the mood to deal with any of his smart-ass comments. "Maybe later..."

We continued to walk. This place seemed to stretch on forever, by Lyra didn't seem to get lost once.

Then, I heard a faint tapping noise. My ears swiveled forward. I listened carefully. There it was again! Yes, it was a faint tapping noise, but it was close to us. I scanned the trees. Nothing was near by. I scanned the water. No, nothing in the water could make that kind of noise.

The noise started to get louder. I started to worry. I ran towards Jay jay. "Do you hear that?"

She looked confused. "Hear what?"

"Er, nothing." Of course. Growlithe had some of the best hearing in the whole Johto region. Of course she couldn't hear it. Hmm... but maybe Lyra could.

I jogged so I was next to Lyra. I pulled on the sleeve of her shirt. She looked down at me. "Hmmm? What is it Kenji?"

I looked around frantically and twitched my ears around.

Lyra cupped a hand to her ear. "I don't hear anything..."

The sound was very loud now. It sounded like a drumming in my ears. And no one could hear it but me! I was starting to get annoyed.

Then Lyra stopped walking. "Wait...I do hear something fait..." My face lit up. Finally!

"I think..." Lyra cupped her hands to her ears. But she didn't have to. I now knew where the sound was coming from. I sniffed Lyra's purse and poked at it with one finger.

Lyra went digging through her bag. Suddenly it all came together when she pulled out the egg. The shell seemed to be bending as the creature inside was trying it's best to be birthed.

Then, there was a crack in the egg, and almost right after, the shell shattered into a million pieces. There was now a small, baby pokemon in Lyra's hands. Its torso was a hard and white, with blue and red triangles on it. It was the same material as its shell. The hard shell part of its body ended in a sharp zig-zag at the start of its arms, legs and neck. Those parts of its body were a light peach, and slightly fuzzy. The hair on its head was spiked.

"Wow..." Lyra was amazed. The whole team, even James, gathered around to peek at the sleeping baby.

The baby opened its black eyes and let out an incoherent babble. "Awww!" Jay jay cooed. "Can I hold it?!" She held out her blue arms.

Lyra lowered the baby into Jay jay's arms. "Just don't drop her," she told Jay jay.

Jay jay spoke babble to the baby and dangled her finger in front of its face. The baby happily tried the grab it.

Mean while, Lyra slipped out her pokedex. There was a quite beeping noise. "Togepi. The spike ball pokemon. Type: Normal. A proverb claims that happiness will come to anyone who can make a sleeping Togepi stand up."

"Togepi, huh?" Lyra said, scratching the back of her neck. "Never heard of it. It must be a rare one. Guess it couldn't hurt to keep it on the team."

Jay jay let out an excited cheer. The Togepi, picking up this emotion, chattered excitedly.

Lyra patted the Togepi on the head. "You will be called Togi from now on."

The baby cooed. "Toeee. Geee?"

Jay jay was ecstatic. "Oh Lyra, if you could understand us, you would be so proud!"

Lyra laughed and patted Jay jay on her head too. "Someone sure is happy to have a new member on the team."

Jay jay beamed. "You have no idea." Jay jay looked over her shoulder. "Aaron, check out this cutie!"

Aaron came over and peered over Jay jay's shoulder. He smiled and held the back of his hand against Togi's forehead. Togi grabbed his hand with her small ones, and gnawed on it. Aaron winced and smiled. "She is diffidently strong, that is for sure." He drew his hand back, revealing little red marks on it.

I smiled, and then looked over at James. I caught it! He was smiling!

"What cha' smiling 'bout?" I asked him in a sing song voice.

James glared at me. He turned and walked away with Lyra. He held up his middle finger.

I caught up with him. "I knew you had some sort of emotion," I said when I was behind him.

I heard a low growl come from James. Then it disappeared. "Fuck off."

"And you're back to your old self." I sighed. There was a silence. I looked behind me. Jay jay wand Aaron were following us, just walking further back, both still ogling over Togi.

Now seemed like the best time. Sooner than later. "So who was the boy with the red hair?"

James scoffed. He slowed down his pace so we were now walking side by side. "Brandon. He is Lyra's rival. He is also a soulless thief." There was much anger in his words.

"A thief?"

"Yeah! A thief! And a coward! He was too scared to ask Professor Elm for a pokemon, so he stole one. One of my closest friends too!" James raised a clawed hand to his forehead. "She was a friendly chikorita. Now she is a heartless bayleef, thanks to her trainer. And I have to battle her too!" James's hands clenched into fists. He muttered something about how it wasn't fair.

I brought a hand out and gently touched his shoulder. He immediately recoiled from my touch. I withdrew my hand.

James gave me one last look before increasing his pace, and walking side by side with Lyra again.

I sighed. This guy was diffidently a tough one.


	12. Chapter 11

The sun was setting when we finally got out of Ilex Forest. Many trainers were outside the gates of the forest, just itching for an interesting battle. We were diffidently going to give them one.

Togi was starting to level up, slowly but surely. She mostly used Extrasensory and a move I had never heard of before called Metronome. Apparently it takes any known moves in all of Johto, and picked one from random. She mostly got strong moves.

Aaron had just finished defeating a trainer's Mareep when he was surrounded by a white light. He didn't scream as much as Jay jay. He only let out an occasional grunt of displeasure, but I could still tell it hurt him. When the light left him, his whole body was a lighter purple. There was no longer a strange gas flowing from his body. But he did float now, his feet never touching the floor. His black hair was now spiked in the back. His hands looked more like claws.

Jay jay was the first one to run to him, frantically asking if he was okay. He responded in a quite voice. Togi was the second one to run over. Well not so much running as waddling. She still didn't quite have walking down correctly.

By the time we reached the center in Goldenrod City, everyone was exhausted. The sun was far below the horizon and the moon was high in the sky. Lyra was so tired; she was barely even able to make it to her room. She fell on the bed and was instantly asleep. James tucked her in.

I woke early. I constantly cursed my internal alarm clock. It never let me sleep in. If the sun was coming up, so was I.

I took a peek around the room. Jay jay and Aaron were lying back to back again. Except this time, Aaron's body floated an inch or so from the ground, even as he slept. Togi was tucked under Jay jay's arm, fast asleep, with a puddle of drool forming under her mouth. Lyra was in a deep sleep. And once again, James was gone.

I drummed my fingers on the tile floor and finally decided to go out.

I found him by the limits of the city, once again looking out at the ocean. The sun was just starting to rise and the sky was streaked pink and orange.

"Is this something you do every night? Go out and stand by the sea?" I asked as I approached James.

He turned around, gave me a look up and down, then turned back to the ocean. "Nah. Not all centers have an ocean near them."

"That's not what I mean." I rolled my eyes. "I mean, do you ever sleep?"

James shrugged. "Guess you could call me an insomniac. I just don't always feel the need to sleep. When I do, I sleep. When I don't, I don't. Simple enough."

I stood next to James. "You know, when I first tried to get to know you, you said you didn't talk a lot. But the truth is, you do."

James laughed. "I just wanted you to leave me alone."

"Why?"

James was quiet as he thought for a second. Finally, he said, "I don't know."

I laughed to myself and shook my head. "You are such a confusing being. You know that, right?"

James shrugged.

"I mean, when we are around the whole team, you are a self centered piece of shit. But when I am alone with you, you actually seem to have feelings. What's up with that?"

James shrugged again.

"You aren't helping."

"I tend to do that."

I sighed. He was being difficult again! "Is it because you are trying to impress the team? Or show off to Lyra or Jay jay?"

James laughed. "Why would I be trying to show off?"

"I'm just trying to figure you out! I mean, you seem so harsh sometimes, and so deep others. Just yesterday, you told me to 'fuck off'."

James looked deep into my eyes. I almost got the feeling that he was looking into my soul. I felt as if every little thing I had done wrong was showing. I felt embarrassed. My eyes drifted away from his.

I heard him chuckle. I looked up at him. He was smiling. Twice. That had been the second time I caught him. And it was actually a happy smile, not a sarcastic grin. "Kenji, it is going to take more than three days to figure me out."


	13. Chapter 12

"Ta-da!" Lyra said happily as she held up the newest member of our team. It was a pokemon from a far off region, one we have never seen before. Lyra got it from a friend. She said she needed it to help her beat the next gym.

It was a riolu, but it's original trainer had named is Ta'jean. "I'm going to keep the name its old trainer gave it. It shows respect." Lyra said as she put Ta'jean down.

Ta'jean was mostly blue. The upper half of his torso was black, along with the bottom half of his legs and his feet. There was a yellow band around his neck, and a black one around his red eyes. He had shaggy black hair, and floppy black ears that fell from them. His blue tail wagged with curiosity. He was only a little younger than Togi.

James looked down at Ta'jean disapprovingly. He lifted a clawed foot, pressed it to Ta'jean's chest, and pushed him over. Ta'jean landed on his butt and let out a high pitched squeak.

"Hey!" Lyra scolded James, "He is a member of our team now! Don't be pushing him around!"

James looked down at Ta'jean, who was starting to get up. "He's not even from Johto. Is that even legal?"

I shrugged. "A pokemon is a pokemon, no matter what region it comes from."

James glared at me.

Ta'jean had gotten up and was staggering toward me. He tripped, and fell face-first into my leg. He lifted his head out of the fur on my knee and looked at me. "Fluffy!" He exclaimed in a squeaky voice. He moved his tiny hands around, running them through my orange fur.

Lyra chuckled. "Looks like someone has taken a liking to you," she told me.

I looked down at Ta'jean and picked him up. He let out a happy squeal and threw his arms up and down. I smiled. He was adorable.

"Okay, we need to train before the next gym. So let's hit Route 34!"

We trained for hours. Lyra wanted to get Togi and Ta'jean up to a reasonable level, especially since she was going to use Ta'jean in the next gym battle.

The sun was high in the sky when we finally stopped training. We were heading back to the center to heal up once more before heading to the gym.

Ta'jean was walking next to me. Due to his massive amount of recent leveling up, he was now almost as tall as me. Togi was only a little shorter than him, but she was walking in between Jay jay and Aaron. James had his usual spot next to Lyra.

"...And then I will be able to beat you!" Ta'jean told me enthusiastically.

"Really?" I smiled.

"Yeah! I mean, look at this," Ta'jean flexed his arm. Rope-like muscles bulged under his blue fur "Give this a few more levels and it could beat anyone!"

I laughed. "You really think you are going to be able to beat me?"

"Yeah!" Ta'jean was determined. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Think about it," I said. "What types are you?"

"Steel and Fighting," Ta'jean said proudly.

"And what type am I?"

"Fire."

"What is Fire affective against?"

"Easy. Grass and Bug."

"And...?"

Ta'jean though for a second. "And Ice!"

"And...?" He obviously wasn't getting my point.

Ta'jean thought hard. "There isn't anything else."

I sighed. "And Steel. Fire is effective against Steel."

"Your point is...?"

"My point is I have a type advantage against you."

Ta'jean laughed. "Was that it? I thought it was actually something important. See I don't care about type advantages and disadvantages, because I am just going to use brute strength to take everyone down."

I chuckled. "Well you are going to have to get strong first." I pushed him and he went toppling in the other direction.

"Hey!" He ran towards me and tried to push me. My body barely moved.

"Yeah, you are diffidently going to have to get a lot stronger first."

As we talked, I looked up once or twice. When I did, I saw James looking in our direction. Wow. If looks could kill, Ta'jean would be dead on the ground right now.

Since the gym was Normal type, none of us had a disadvantage. James, Ta'jean, and I did all of the battling. It wasn't hard. If we used fast, strong moves, the opponent would be dead in one move.

At the back of the gym, was a cheery pink haired girl. Her face lit up when she saw us and she waved us over.

"Hi! I'm Whitney!" She exclaimed when we reached her.

"Hey Whitney. I'm Lyra." Lyra waved, a little skeptical.

"Guess what Lyra, everyone was into pokemon, so I got into it, too! Pokemon are super cute anyway!"

"Uhhh...That can't be a healthy way to think about pokemon, especially when you are a leader," Lyra said quietly. Whitney didn't hear her.

"Hey, you want to battle?!" Whitney had a big smile on her face.

"Sure..."

"I'm warning you, I'm good!" Whitney smiled. "Go clefairy!"

The clefairy was short and a little chubby, but in the cute way. It had an all pink body. It's hair fell in dark pink curls. Brown ears stuck up from it's hair. Little wings were on it's upper back and a small curly tail came out of it's lower back.

"Go Ta'jean! Use Force Palm!"

Ta'jean went running forward. He slammed an open palm into the clefairy's chest. It stumbled back a little, but got up.

"Use Mimic clefairy." The clefairy closed its eyes. It was thinking. Then it opened its eyes with a determined look on its face. It just copied Ta'jean's move.

"Ta'jean! Finish it off with another Force Palm!"

Ta'jean looked at the clefairy. Something was wrong with him. There was a different look in his eyes. One of love. He didn't move. He just stood there, with a corny little smile on his face.

"Oh crap!" Lyra kicked the ground with her foot. "Not Cute Charm!"

"Clefairy use Force Palm." The clefairy casually walked forward. It put it's hand on Ta'jean's stomach and sent him stumbling backwards. He fell onto his butt.

"Come on Ta'jean! Think hard, you're not in love. Use Force Palm!"

Ta'jean thought hard. He looked up at the clefairy and smiled.

"Crap!" Lyra yelled.

"Clefairy. Use Force Palm again." The clefairy put it's hand over Ta'jean's face. His head slammed down into the ground.

"Ta'jean! Snap out of it! Force Palm!" Lyra yelled.

"Come on Ta'jean! You can do it! Focus!" I yelled from behind Lyra.

Ta'jean shook his head and his facial expression became serious. He lept from the ground and on top on the clefariy. He put an open palm to it's throat.

It was over. The clefairy fell over. "Clefairy, return. Go miltank!"

The miltank was mostly pink. It had a yellow circle on it's stomach. It's hands and feet were black. It's head was black, but it's face was pink. It had white hair, with floppy black ears. A pink tail, with a black ball at the end, fell to the ground.

"You think you can take this Ta'jean?" Lyra asked quietly.

Ta'jean nodded.

James scoffed. "Let's hope he doesn't fall in love again."

"Miltank, use Stomp!" The miltank overpowered Ta'jean. It knocked him to the floor, and stomped on his throat with it's black foot. Ta'jean was out. Dead.

"Ta'jean!" I screamed and ran forward. I felt the tears wet the fur around my eyes. He lay there. Eyes closed. I shook his arm, but he didn't move.

"Kenji. Get him off the field." Lyra spoke in a calm, quiet voice. There was much anger hidden in it, though.

I nodded, too shocked and scared to speak, and picked up Ta'jean's limp body in my hands. He was cold.

"Go James!" James ran forward, smiling. "Use Ice Fang!" James bared his teeth and dug them into the miltank's neck.

The miltank knocked James to the floor. "Use stomp!" It lifted its foot. James tried to roll away but the miltank brought it's foot down on his leg.

James growled. "Keep using Ice Fang James!" James dug his fangs into the miltank's leg. It howled.

Lyra turned to me quickly. "Oi, Kenji, give this to Ta'jean." She held out a small, yellow diamond. I picked it up and examined it in my fingers. "Put it in his mouth. Hurry! He doesn't have much time!"

"Miltank! Stomp!" Whitney was starting to get more aggressive about her battling. The miltank brought its foot down on James's torso, forcing him back down on the ground.

"James, Water Gun!" James spewed a strong stream of water out of his mouth. The miltank wobbled a bit, but kept its ground.

I opened Ta'jean's mouth and put the yellow diamond on his tongue. It instantly dissolved.

"Miltank! Use Stomp again!" The miltank brought its foot down on James's face and left it there.

"James use Scratch!" James blindly moved his clawed hands up and scratched fearlessly at the miltank's leg. That did it. The miltank was out.

Ta'jean slowly opened his eyes. I smiled, laughed almost, and hugged him. "Kenji? What happeded?"

"I thought you were dead," was all I could say.

Then, I saw a white light shine out of the corner of my eye. I looked over and saw James completely surrounded by it. He was finally evolving.

No screams of pain. No grunts of discomfort. James was silent as his body twisted into its new form.

When the light disappeared, I nearly recoiled because of James's new look. I thought it was impossible for James to look any more threatening. I was wrong.

James stood taller than Lyra now. Much taller than Lyra. His scales were a darker blue than before. There was a yellow patch on his stomach that formed a 'V'. His lower jaw was yellow. There was black out lining his now golden eyes. His hair was now longer, and fell straight down his back. Three red spikes protruded out of the middle of his back. Three more were on the end of his tail, which was now much longer, and rested on the floor. The scar I gave him still showed faintly on his cheek. James let out a triumphant roar.

James looked down at me. I was still holding Ta'jean, who still had no idea what just happened. James growled and turned away.

Lyra was trying to comfort Whitney, who was bawling her eyes out. "You meanie!" Whitney managed to get out in between sobs.

Ta'jean looked up at me. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

"You died," I finally said, "But Lyra had a revive. She brought you back. I was so worried." I tightened my grip on Ta'jean.

"Kenji, I still need to breath," Ta'jean said in a raspy voice.

"Sorry," I said guiltily and loosened my grip.

"What...what do you want? A badge?" Whitney brought her hands down from her eyes and looked at Lyra

"Yea." Lyra said, annoyed.

"Oh...right...I forgot. Here you go." Whitney held out her hand. There was a plain, grey square in it.

"Thanks," Lyra said in a monotone voice, and started to walk away.

"Oh! Wait!" Whitney called out to Lyra.

Lyra looked highly annoyed, but put on a fake smile as she turned around. "Yes?"

"I head the Pokeathlon Dome opened up by Route 35. You should check it out since you are so good at battling."

Lyra smiled. "Thanks!" When she turned to us, her smile disappeared. "Come on guys, let's head to the center. It's late."


	14. Chapter 13

Togi, Aaron, and Jay jay were waiting for us back at the center. I had almost forgotten we had left them there. Aaron was Ghost type so he wouldn't do any damage to Normal. Jay jay and Togi decided to stay behind with him. They insisted that their level was high enough and they were done with battling for the day.

We walked through the sliding glass doors, James next to Lyra, Ta'jean with one arm over my shoulder as I helped him walk. Togi came running up to us. "Did you win? Did you win?"

I laughed and patted her on the head. "Do we ever loose?"

"Yay!" Togi laughed and spun in a circle.

"What happened to him?" Aaron nodded his head toward Ta'jean.

"Just got a bit roughed up. I'm good now," Ta'jean said.

"Well as long as you are okay, then that is good!" Jay jay came over and put a hand on Ta'jean's shoulder. Ta'jean smiled a large, childish smile.

I couldn't sleep at all that night. The image of Ta'jean laying dead was engraved permanently in my mind.

Finally, I gave up on trying to sleep. I sat up. Everyone was in the room, even James. He was too big to be curled up on the foot of the bed now, and he took one half while Lyra took the other, their backs to each other.

I looked over at Ta'jean, who was fast asleep on the floor. I walked over to him and sat down. He looked so healthy and peaceful, nothing like the dying creature I saw on the field. I ran my fingers though his blue fur. The soft fur seemed to almost comfort me in a way.

Ta'jean rolled on to his back. I quickly withdrew my hand. I had woken him.

Ta'jean looked at me through half open eyes. "What...you doing..." He was still half asleep.

"Nothing!" I felt my face go hot with embarrassment.

Ta'jean had a small, sleepy smile on his face. I wonder what he was thinking of.

"Kenji..." He whispered.

"What?" I asked.

Ta'jean signaled with his hand for me to lean in closer. I leaned in a little closer, still keeping a decent distance between the two of us. "Closer..." he said.

I brought my head down so it was close to his face. Ta'jean grabbed my head with his hands and brought my face closer to his. What _is _he doing?!

Ta'jean kissed me. Nothing long or sloppy. Just a fast peck on the lips. There was a soft, "Thanks..." Then his hands slipped from my face and he was asleep again, leaving me stunned.

I stared at Ta'jean, hoping for an explanation, but he was out cold. I brought my fingers to my lips. They were warm...

I quickly got up and ran out of the center.


	15. Chapter 14

I stood out by the city limits, the same place I had talked with James just the night before. I think I now understand why he goes out here. It is so calming, so peaceful. The sound of the waves crashing up against the rocks, the sound of the breeze blowing through the trees, it created a calming symphony that could instantly bring peace to one who is troubled.

I sat down on the edge of the cliff, the waves crashed into the rocks beneath me. I took a deep breath in, held it, then slowly let it out. The scene of Ta'jean kissing me played in my mind over and over again.

I raised my hands to my temples. "Come on Kenji," I said to myself, "He probably wasn't in his right mind. He was half asleep and exhausted from the battle before. It meant nothing."

But he still did it. And that was what troubled me. Even if he was half asleep. It meant that it was something he had wanted to do. I sighed and lowered my head into my hands.

The whole time I was out there, I kinda wished James would show up. I had this whole scene set up in my head where he would come out, we would talk more, and I would completely forget about the whole incident with Ta'jean. But he never came. I guess he was finally able to sleep. It was a good thing. Maybe he wasn't going to have insomnia anymore because of his evolution. Maybe it meant he would be kinder.

When the sun rose, I finally went back into the center. No one had moved, except for James, who was now turned towards Lyra. They were all still asleep though. I curled up on the floor and shut my eyes, trying to get at least a little amount of sleep before we had to start moving again.

I still didn't get any sleep. The team was up soon and ready to take on Route 35. I tried to not drag my feet, to not show how sleepy I was, but I am pretty sure I failed.

As we walked through Goldenrod towards Route 35, I kept my distance my Ta'jean. I felt kinda bad. What if he didn't remember and he just thought I was giving him the cold shoulder? But then, what if he did remember? I was confused and embarrassed. If he wanted to approach me, he could. I would just wait until then.

"What's wrong Kenji?"

I was snapped out of my trance to find Jay jay walking beside me. "Oh...nothing..."

"Sounds real convincing!" Jay jay put her hands on her hips. "What happened? Was it something with Ta'jean?"

My face grew hot. The scene replayed in my head. "N-no! What would make you think that?!"

"Oh, just that you two were hanging all over each other yesterday, and now you are keeping as much distance as you can from him." Jay jay smiled.

"Its...its nothing..." I kept my eyes on the ground.

"Come onnnnn!"

Aaron slid next to Jay jay and whispered in her ear.

"He kissed you!?" Jay jay kept her voice low.

"Aaron!" I threw an angry look in Aaron's direction "How the hell did you know!? You were asleep!"

"Future Sight." Aaron pointed to his forehead. "I knew even before it happened."

"I can't believe it! Did you do it back? Did you like it?" Jay jay was starting to speak louder. Typical female, just waiting to gossip.

"Did who like what?" Togi came over on my other side.

Aaron and Jay jay gave each other a look.

"Don't!" I hissed.

"Don't what?" Togi asked.

Jay jay came over to Togi and picked her up. Togi was getting bigger from leveling up, but she was still much smaller than Jay jay.

Jay jay cradled Togi in her arms, the same way she use to when Togi was still a baby. "Nothing you need to worry about." Jay jay tapped Togi's nose with her finger. Togi giggled.

I turned to Aaron. "I am curious what is going to happen next. Can you give me any hinters?"

Aaron shook his head. "I already told you..."

"I know I know, you would loose your Future Sight." I sighed "I was just hoping that maybe..."

My voice trailed off when I noticed that Ta'jean was looking back at me. My heart felt like it was going to stop. What was I going to do? I looked towards Aaron for help, but he had drifted away from me and was now with Jay jay and Togi. I desperately tried to look for a distraction as Ta'jean came towards me.

"Hey," Ta'jean said as he approached me.

I shifted my position awkwardly. "Hey," I mumbled.

There was a silence between us for a few seconds as we walked.

"Listen, I'm sorry," Ta'jean finally said.

"What?"

"I shouldn't have done that last night. It must have really freaked you out."

"Ah..." I looked up at the sky. "So you do remember..."

Ta'jean let out a chuckle. "Of course I remember. I could never forget something that felt that good."

My face grew hot and I looked back down at my feet. Ta'jean put a hand on my shoulder and we both stopped walking. His fingers brushed the scar James gave me on my shoulder. James...

He looked at me with his red eyes. His face came closer to mine. Red eyes getting bigger as his face approached. Red eyes.

An image of James, before he evolved, flashed behind my eyes. His red eyes. They always seemed to bore so deep into my soul.

I didn't understand why James kept popping into my head. I suddenly felt uncomfortable and wanted to get out of this situation anyway I could.

"Hey guys! We're gonna battle! Hurry up!" Lyra was up ahead, with James standing faithfully at her side. She was next to a picnicker, the person who she was probably going to battle.

I quickly squirmed away from Ta'jean and walked away quickly. Ta'jean, Aaron, Jay jay, and Togi followed.

"Ready?" The picnicker asked.

"Mmhm." Lyra nodded, getting ready.

"I only have one, but I warn you he is fast."

"I will only use one then, too. James? Ready?" Lyra looked up at James. He gave her a single nod of his head, his face expressionless. "Good! Because I want to see how you battle now that you have evolved!"

Lyra and the picnicker got in their battle positions. "Go pikachu!" The pikachu had a small body. Especially compared to James. Its whole body was covered in a short, yellow fur. It had a red circle on each of its cheeks. The hair on its head was a dark, shaggy brown. Long, pointed ears poked out of the hair, they were tipped with the brown color too. It had a tail that resembled a lighting bolt. The tail came zigzagging out of its lower back, the base of it was brown. Three brown stripes ran across its back.

"Go James!" James stepped forward. Usually he would have a smug look on his face right about now, but instead, he just looked emotionless. I hoped he wouldn't always be like this. I kinda missed the old sarcastic asshole side of him.

"Pikachu! Quick Attack!" The pikachu ran forward. It darted from side to side quickly, confusing James. It came up behind James, and tackled him. James staggered a little, but kept standing.

"James, Crunch!" The pikachu tried to dart away, but James caught it in his hands. He brought his jaw down towards its sides and dug his teeth in. There was a horrible cracking noise. The pikachu let out a horrid, high pitched squeal.

The pikachu was limp, defeated. But James still didn't drop it. "James, it is over now. You can let it down," Lyra said. She was a little wary. A little afraid that she wouldn't be able to control the new James.

Instead of putting it down, James tightened his jaw. There was another cracking noise. Another one of the pikachu's ribs gave way. Its eyes flew open and its body spasmed with the last bit of life that it had. Then it was dead. James, seeming content with this result, opened his mouth and let the bleeding creature fall to the ground.

The picnicker let out a scream. "You killed it!" She ran forward and kneeled next to the dead pikachu. She reached a hand forward, then took it back. "You killed it..."

"James! What the hell! The battle is over when I say it is over! You do not kill on purpose!"

James wore no expression as Lyra pushed him aside and ran to aid the picnicker. Lyra handed the girl a yellow diamond. It was a revive, the same thing she had given to Ta'jean when he died.

Lyra kept apologizing like a madman. The picnicker seemed worried, but overcome with relief once her pikachu finally opened its eyes.

"It will still be weak, so get it to a center quickly. Once again, I am really sorry." Lyra shook hands with the trainer.

"Pikachu. Return." The pikachu was sucked into its pokeball. "No problem. Thanks for bringing him back. And good luck training that feraligatr." With that, the trainer left.

**Wow. I love everyone who has made it this far. Every day when I come back and see that my story has had 100 more views, I have to try hard to not leap with joy. You all make me happy, even though I don't even know who you are. **

**Thank you all for continuing to read! Remember to leave feedback ^-^**


	16. Chapter 15

Lyra sat under a tree on Route 35, talking on her phone with professor Elm. "I don't get it. I have never had trouble with him before." She was quiet for a second as she listened. "Well the only difference would be new members of the team..."

We had made our way up Route 35, and now the whole team was resting. Togi, Jay jay, and Aaron were in the shadows of a tree, talking casually. It was kind of funny, they looked like a real family, even though they were all different breads, types, and levels.

Ta'jean was up in a tree, sitting on a branch. His back was resting against the trunk. A single leg dangled down. He was asleep.

James was the furthest away. He was leaning against a tree. His hands were behind his back. Something had to be bothering him.

I walked up to James. "Is everything okay?"

James glared at me. Red always seemed like a more threatening color. It is the color of evil things. It is the color of blood. But right now, gold was the most intimidating color I have ever seen. Gold outlined with black.

"I'm just peachy! Thanks for asking!" James spat the words at me.

"Really James. If there is anything-"

"Get the hell out of here!" James wasn't even looking at me anymore.

"You can't keep your issues bottled up. It won't-"

"You're my issue! Now leave!" James was growling now. He was leaning down so his face was now on my level. I immediately wanted to recoil from his stare, but I resisted. I refused to let him think he was scaring me.

We had a stare down for a couple of seconds. I was trying to look as threatening as possible. James continued to let out a low growl. His upper lip was raised as he snarled. "Fine!" I finally yelled. I turned on the ball of my foot and left James.

Something in the back of my head constantly told me to turn around. It told me to turn around and get one more look at James. To turn around and see if I had done any damage at all. But I pushed the voice away. I _was _curious to see if I had hit any type of nerve on James, but I was also too stubborn to show him that I even cared.

I wasn't watching where I was going and walked straight into a black leg that was dangling out of a tree. I quickly jumped back and shook my head, momentarily confused.

Ta'jean looked down at me from his perch in the tree. "Oh, hey Kenji." He lifted his leg up and propped his foot up on the branch. "Sorry 'bout that. I was asleep."

"It's fine," I grumbled, rubbing my forehead.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Ta'jean jumped down from the tree. He landed on his hands and knees, then stood up straight. He was getting taller, still not as tall as me though. I suddenly wondered if he would be anything like James when he evolved. I hoped not. I didn't want another standoffish intimidating team member.

"I'm..." I sighed and scratched the back of my neck. "I'm just a little annoyed." I threw a glance in James's direction. He was completely still, looking in the other direction.

Ta'jean put a hand on my shoulder. My fur stood on end. He was _touching _me again! "Don't let him bother you. Some are just made to be jerks. I think he is one of them."

I looked up at Ta'jean. He had a serious look on his face. I looked back at James. "I don't think he was made to be an ass. I just think he is troubled."

Ta'jean's hand slid from my shoulder. Was it because I was defending James? "Troubled or not, he has no reason to treat others the way he does."

Lyra suddenly jumped up. "Team! Gather 'round!" Everyone looked at Lyra, then slowly made their way towards her. "We are going to take a little detour. Instead of going straight to Ecruteak City, we are going to stop by the Pokeathlon Dome first." She looked at all of us. James was the last one who her eyes meant. She looked frightened for a split second. "Elm says that it will help the team blow off any excess steam." She smiled.


	17. Chapter 16

We had already passed the National Park Gate, and were heading towards the Pokeathlon Dome, when we approached a strange man. He was old and dressed in all blue. He had a white mullet. His eye brows and mustache were also white, and both dramatically pointed off of his face.

Next to him stood a poliwrath. It was the same height as the man, a little short. Its body was blue and leathery. Its hands were white. Its torso was white. A black spiral stood out against the white. It's hair was white and fell down to its eyes.

The old man started laughing. Then he came up to us. He took a long look at Lyra. "Hmmm..." he mumbled to him self. "I feel it!" He suddenly shouted. Lyra jumped a little. She looked back at us, a little afraid.

"The twinkle in your eyes! The twinkle of friendship! You're quite something." The old man wagged his finger at Lyra. "Your pokemon are quite impressive! They are ready to participate in the Pokethlon!" The old man smiled. Lyra looked confused.

"Most of all, your trust of pokemon makes me believe you have infinite potential! All right! Follow me!" The old man started walking away. Lyra gave us one last look of confusion before she walked after him.

The man stopped in front of the glass doors of a giant dome. "What do you think? This is the Pokeathlon Dome! You should really try it out!"

The Dome was pretty impressive. It towered over most of the buildings I have seen so far. Bright lights flickered across it constantly, even though it was still light outside. A large, golden pokeball was held above the glass doors of the Dome.

"You're amazing, bud!" The old man slapped his hand on Lyra's shoulder. James tensed. This almost made me happy. He was still super protective over Lyra, even though he showed it less. It meant that maybe he was still the same.

"It is a pleasant surprise to see a Pokeathlete with such strong potential! It brings me pleasure!" Lyra slowly inched away from the old man. Finally his hand fell from her shoulder because she had simply gotten too far away.

"I am glad I started the Pokeathlon here in Johto! Oh! By the way, my name is Magnus." The old man smiled. "Well, we will meet again, bud." Then the old man walked into the doors of the Dome.

"What...was...that...?" Lyra looked at us. Jay jay and I shrugged. Lyra looked back at the doors. "Well, I could have done with out the welcoming committee. But, we are here, so lets try it out!"

The inside of the dome was dazzling. The floor was all black, with occasional blue streaking across it. There were pillars off to the side of the main walk way. Blue and green lights jumped from one pillar to the next. Many people were around talking to receptionists or checking on their pokemon. There were three huge screens, one over each reception desk, that showed which even was going on at the moment. There were two escalators, one that led down, and one that went up.

"Is this your first time here?" A receptionist called out to Lyra from behind her desk.

"Uhhh, yeah." Lyra walked over to the reception desk. The five of us stayed behind. James was the only one who was still walking beside her.

"This place is huge!" I held out my arms and spun in a small circle.

"I bet the actual track is bigger," Togi said.

"I heard the inside is as big as Goldenrod!" Jay jay exclaimed.

"I have never seen a place like this before. No buildings are like this in Sinnoh!" Ta'jean watched the blue lights as they streaked across the floor.

"It's quite a place, isn't it?" Aaron said.

"Hey team, gather round!" Lyra called over to us by her spot at the reception desk. The five of us came forward. "We are going to enter the Power Course. I can choose three of you." Lyra looked us all over carefully. "I have decided to use James, Ta'jean, and Jay jay. Will the rest of you be safe and stay in the lobby during the competition?" Aaron, Togi, and I nodded our heads. "Good! Make sure to root for us!" Lyra gave us each a pat on the head.

A bar lifted up in the reception desk. Lyra, James, Ta'jean, and Jay jay all went through. "Good luck!" I yelled to them as they left.


	18. Chapter 17

"How do you think they are going to do?" Togi asked Aaron.

Aaron simply smiled.

"We always win? Don't we?" I spoke up, remembering that Aaron couldn't give away any information about the future.

"Well, yeah...but still...there is a chance..." Togi looked down at her feet.

"Well then we will win!" I rubbed Togi's head.

Just then, the screen above the reception desk lit up. A pokeball with a fist coming out of it lit up on the screen. It was the Pokeathlon's logo. Then the screen went dark for a few seconds. When it lit up again, it showed the inside of the field. A man dressed in all white stood a stage in the middle of the field. A red, a blue, a yellow, and a green sign were behind him, all had zeros on them. In front of him stood the four competitors. There was an old man in a yellow uniform, a fat man in a green uniform, a karate man in a blue uniform, and Lyra was at the end, in a red uniform. The pokemon could not be seen yet.

"Welcome to the Pokeathlon!" The man on the stage spoke up into the microphone. "Today's event is...the Power Course! Who will shine the brightest today?" The man pointed his finger out to the competitors. "Let 's meet the competitors!"

The pokemon came running out from an unknown spot on the field. They obediently lined up behind their owners. "Why do we stand out like that? Winning is not the only thing in the Pokeathlon! It's Team Lyra! James, Ta'jean, and Jay jay!" The camera zoomed in on each of the team member's faces. James, as usual, looked emotionless. Ta'jean looked excited, pumped almost. He could barely sit still, jumping from foot to foot. Jay jay looked slightly afraid. Or maybe she was anxious. She was floating off the ground, her wings flapping, with her hands tightly woven together and her head down.

"Power is strength! Strength is power! I'll use that power to climb to the top! Team Yona! Swinub, phanphy, and machop!" All three of the karate man's pokemon looked more than ready. They smiled with evil intent as they looked upon the weaker opponents.

"A pokemon's strength and power... I'll show them to you! Team Mac! Tauros, aipom, and snubbull!" All three of the fat man's pokemon looked very casual. They were all talking to one another and laughing. They seemed like they were in this competition for the fun of it.

"Do you know me!? Do you know what kind of hidden talents I have?! Team Holden! Stantler, girafarig, and delibird!" The old man's pokemon looked quite old themselves. But they also looked determined. They looked like the kind that should not be messed with.

"All right! We're ready!" The man on the stage clapped his hands together. "Aim for the top! Let's POKEATHLON!"

The screen went dark again for a few seconds. Then a picture of a machoke smashing a pile of bricks came on to the screen. The screen said, "Preparing for Event 1: Block Smash."

"Huh?" I tilted my head as I looked at the screen. "I thought the Pokeathlon would be like a series of battles or something like that."

"Nope." Aaron shook his head. "They are a series of games. No battling is involved what-so-ever. Pokemon rarely ever get hurt in these events, so they are often treated like a break from the constant battling. It is something both trainers and pokemon will do for fun."

"Hmm." I pondered as I looked back up to the screen. It went black again. When it came back, the screen was cut into four sections. A flag was in the top corner of each part of the screen to signify which pokemon was on which team.

The first quarter of the screen had a red flag in the corner. James could be seen standing in front of a pile of ten concrete bricks. He cracked his knuckles, preparing himself. The second quarter of the screen had a blue flag in it. A swinub was standing with a cocky look on its face. The third quarter had a green flag in the corner. A tauros stood with a smile on its face. The last quarter had a yellow flag in the corner. A stantler stood with its fists up, ready.

A count down appeared in the middle of the screen. "3...2...1...GO!" The pokemon took off, pounding away at the blocks with their fists. When the ten blocks were out, a platform beneath them would open up, letting the rubble fall down. Then ten more blocks would fall from the ceiling in the same spot as the previous ten. When a pokemon would get tired, the trainer would shout its name. It would instantly be sucked into its pokeball and another pokemon from the team would be sent out.

James was pounding away at the blocks in front of him. He was able to get through fifteen before the sweat started to run down the scales on his face. "James!" Lyra yelled and he was sucked back into his pokeball. Ta'jean was sent forward. Ta'jean got tired, then Jay jay was sent out. When Jay jay got tired, James was sent out again. The process was repeated over and over again for the duration of the event.

James was out when the clock was ticking down to the last five seconds. "You can make it the last couple of seconds! Come on James!" Lyra yelled out from the sidelines. James was breathing heavily and his knuckles started to bleed. His fist crushed the last of the blocks in front of him just as the clock reached zero.

The pokemon that were still out were James, the phanphy, the snubbull, and the delibird. All of them were breathing heavily. James was the only one with bleeding hands.

The man who was on the stage spoke up. "In fourth place for the Block Smash...Team Yona! With 70 points!" The screen zoomed in on the phanphy. A look of shock and anger was on its face. It growled angrily and kicked at the rubble by it's feet.

"In third place, with a score of 80 points is... Team Holden!" The screen zoomed in on the delibird. It looked disappointed, but not too worried by the loss.

"In second place, with a score of 85 points is...Team Mac!" The screen zoomed in on the snubbull, which was jumping and pumping its fists in the air with a smile on its face.

"Which means that first place goes to Team Lyra! With a score of 90 points!" The screen zoomed in on James. He had a smirk on his face. He lifted his bleeding claws into the air and let out a triumphant roar. He looked wild.

"We won we won!" Togi jumped up and down, laughing.

Aaron laughed and picked up Togi. "Yes we did! Aren't you proud of mommy?"

Mommy? I was shocked for a second. Was he talking about Lyra...or Jay jay?

The screen went back over to the announcer at center field. "Congrats Team Lyra. Now, this event's results will determine how many points you get." He signaled to the four different colored score boards behind him. The board's numbers flipped and then came to a stand-still. 70 points on the blue board. 80 points on the yellow board. 85 points on the green board. 90 points on the red board.

"Can't wait for the next event!" The announce stated excitedly.

The screen went black. Then a picture of two marills pushing each other forcefully came on to the screen. The screen said, "Preparing for Event 2: Circle Push."

"That was...frightening," I said, still staring at the screen. "He looked...scary."


	19. Chapter 18

The screen now showed a large platform that was floating in the air. All the pokemon were on it, each standing together with their team. The bottom of the platform was covered in flashing lights. Each team looked determined.

The count down started. "3...2...1...GO!" The lights on the bottom of the platform made an orange circle appear with the number one in the center. All the pokemon immediately rushed to get into it. They were violently pushing at each other, trying to force the other out of the circle while they kept themselves in. There was only pushing in this round though. Since the circle was so large, all the pokemon were able to be in it by the time the timer dinged.

Then the count down went off again. "3...2...1...Go!" This time the lights made a slightly smaller blue circle with the number two in it, and an even smaller purple one with the number three in it. Jay jay and Ta'jean headed for the blue circle, more comfortable with the larger space. But James was determined. He headed straight for the purple circle. Jay jay and Ta'jean only had the shoulder a few pokemon out of the way so they could stay in the blue circle. James was actually fighting the others off. At the moment, his was hand-locked with the stantler, slowly pushing it out of the circle. The veins in the stantler's neck popped out through it's thin fur as it struggled against James. Finally there was a ding. The stantler looked down and saw it was just out of the circle, while James was still in it. James grinned, the stantler had a competitive smile on its face.

Again, the count down went off. "3...2...1...GO!" The circles moved. There was still a blue one and a purple one, they were just in different spots now. This time, all three of the team members went for the purple circle. Jay jay was violently pushed out of the circle by the machop. She caught herself mid-air with a flap of her wings. She tried to force herself back into the circle, but the machop punched her in the gut. She went flying back. James was trying to get past the girafarig. It turned around, and the face on it's tail bit James's leg. James lept back. "Ding". Both James and Jay jay were out side the circle when the bell went off. Ta'jean was the only one who had gotten the three points. He was standing in the middle of the circle happily, the swinub was trying to get up off the ground next to him. James looked at Ta'jean and growled. It almost seemed like he was angrier at Ta'jean then he was at the girafarig that had pushed him out.

"3...2...1...GO!" The blue circle moved to the top right corner while the purple moved to the bottom left. A very small red circle was in the middle with the number five in the center. Jay jay went for the blue circle. No other pokemon went over there, so she had no issue getting in to it. Ta'jean went over to the purple circle. He was trying to push a tauros out of the circle. The tauros's tails were whipping Ta'jean's legs, but he still pushed on. James stood in the middle of the red circle, prepared. The phanphy came running forward. James held his hands out, and caught the phanphy's arms in them. James flung the phanphy out of the circle. It skidded across the floor. "Ding". The timer went off. All three of them were in the circles. They all had a smile on their faces.

"3...2...1...GO!" There were now two red circles on the floor, and one purple one off in the corner. James went for a red circle while Jay jay and Ta'jean went for the purple one. Jay jay and Ta'jean were back to back, punching and pushing any pokemon that came close to the boundaries of the circle. They were actually doing a very good job, teamwork seemed to work wonders. James was running to the red circle. The aipom jumped on to his back and started to bite his shoulder. James grabbed its tail and ripped the aipom from his back. He threw it across the platform and it fell over the edge. It was sucked back into its pokeball before it hit the floor. "Ding". All three of them were in a circle.

"3...2...1...GO!" The aipom was sent back out on to the platform just as the "GO!" rang out across the arena. There were now two red circles in each of the top corners. A purple circle was in the middle of the bottom. James and Jay jay went for one red circle while Ta'jean went for the other. Ta'jean pushed his way into the red circle. The delibird grabbed his tail and flung him out. Ta'jean landed on his hands and knees. Without even getting up, he tried to get back into the circle, but the delibird kicked him in the face. Ta'jean was sent back a couple of feet. James was hand-locked with the stantler again while Jay jay shoved the tauros out of the circle. "Ding". James and the stantler immediately looked down. Both were in the circle. They looked up at each other and smiled wickedly. Jay jay stood in the circle too, her feet planted firmly on the ground, her hands on her hips. Ta'jean was on his stomach, just outside the boundaries of the other red circle. A look of disappointment was on his face. James looked over and saw Ta'jean. His smile only seemed to get bigger.

"In last place, with 34 points, is...Team Yona!" The screen zoomed in on the phanphy, swinub, and machop. All three looked pissed. You could faintly hear their trainer yelling at them from the sidelines.

"In third place is...Team Holden! With 35 points!" The screen zoomed in on the stantler, delibird, and girafarig. The three stood with smiles on their faces, happy that they at least didn't get last place. The stantler looked over at James. It was laughing.

"In second place, with a score of 38 points is...Team Mac!" The aipom, snubbull, and tauros were jumping up and down together in a circle, smiling and laughing.

"And in first...with a score of 44 points...is once again, Team Lyra!" Jay jay lept at James with a smile on her face. She held his hands and jumped up and down, each leap was prolonged with a flap of her wings. James smiled. Ta'jean had just gotten up. He threw a fist in the air and laughed.

"We won again!" I jumped happily.

The screen flashed over to the announcer. "Congrats again Team Lyra! Now the points from this event will be shown!" 102 points on the blue board. 105 points on the yellow board. 114 points on the green board. 132 points on the red board.

I laughed. "I can't believe they won again! At this rate, we are going to win the whole thing!"


	20. Chapter 19

The screen now showed a Tyrogue throwing a ball. The words beneath it said, "Preparing for Event 3: Goal Run."

"Oh no..." I heard Togi whisper.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Goal Run is one of the hardest events. Especially for the pokemon that enter the Power Course."

"Is that true?" I turned to Aaron.

Aaron nodded. "Most teams are lucky if they can even score one point."

My face was determined. "But they aren't like most teams! They can easily win this!"

The screen flashed on again. This time they were on a platform that was broken up into four different colors. Red, blue, green, and yellow. Each color had a goal in the corner of it. Each team stood in the color of their team. The count down started. "3...2...1...GO!" Jay jay, James, and Ta'jean were whispering to each other right before the buzzer went off. As soon as it did, Ta'jean and Jay jay took their spots in front of the red goal, while James went after the ball that was in the middle of the platform.

James ran forward and kicked the ball. It went shooting towards the blue goal. The machop lept forward and caught it. He chucked it back towards the red goal. Jay jay caught it and threw it out towards the green goal. It landed right in the middle of a crowd. The stantler came running out of the crowd, kicking the ball from foot to foot. It gave one final kick and sent the ball hurtling towards the green goal. The snubbull went diving to get it, but missed. There was a ding. Another ball fell in the center of the platform. James imminently picked it up and threw it towards the yellow goal. The delibird threw its arms up to catch the ball, but it was too short. The ball whizzed over its head. James smiled as another ding rang out. He yelled something over to Ta'jean and Jay jay, who braced themselves in front of the red goal.

Two balls now fell on to the center of the platform. The phanphy went after one ball while the aipom went after another. James threw himself in to the crowd, trying to get a grip on at least one of the balls. A ding went off, another goal. Now James was running to catch up to the aipom. The aipom was running towards the red goal with the ball. The aipom kicked the ball. Ta'jean dived to catch the ball. It was just out of his grasp. The ball slammed into the back of the goal. James glared at Ta'jean while he got up.

Two more balls dropped. One of the balls was golden. James got the usual white one while the stantler got the golden one. The phanphy came over and kicked the ball out from James's feet. James growled and tripped the phanphy. He then turned around and kicked the ball into the blue goal. Two dings rang out, one after the other. The golden ball made it in, which meant someone had two points. James yelled over at Jay jay and Ta'jean again. Ta'jean's ears went back. James must have been yelling at him.

Two golden balls fell. The tauros and the girafarig got the two of them. James chased after the tauros, trying desperately to get the ball. The tauros's tails lashed out a struck James across his side. He staggered back while the tauros kicked the ball towards the red goal. Ta'jean caught it. He threw it towards the yellow goal. The stantler caught it and ran towards the blue goal. Another ding went off, then the timer buzzed. The hectic event was finally over.

"Now...for the points of the final event. In fourth place, with zero points...is Team Yona!" The phanphy, swinub, and machop didn't even look like they cared anymore. Losing three times in a row would do that to the most cocky of pokemon.

"Tied for second and third...are Teams Holden and Lyra! Both with one point!" Jay jay had a small smile on her face. She patted Ta'jean on the shoulder. James looked over at Ta'jean and growled. Ta'jean's ears went back. The stantler, delibird, and girafarig looked happy with the results. The stantler came over and put a hand on Jame's shoulder. James turned around, shocked at first. The stantler held out its hand with a smile on its face. James smiled back and shook the stantler's black hand.

"That means first place goes to Team Mac! With a whopping four points!" The aipom, snubbull, and tauros all came together and hugged each other. They were laughing and almost crying, over come with the happiness of winning an even.

"Congratulations on winning Team Mac! Now the final event's points will be shown behind me." 60 points on the blue board. 75 points on both the yellow and red boards. 120 points on the green board. "Which team will take the championship?! I'll announce the final results!"

The screen went black. Then the Pokeathlon logo appeared on the screen.

"Wow...that was intense," I muttered.

"Awww we only got one point." Togi pouted.

"Ah, but it is still good." Aaron patted her on the head. "At least we got something. It could have been worse."

Togi sighed. "I guess you're right," she muttered.

The screen flashed back to center field. The announcer was standing with the empty score boards behind him. All of the teams were lined up beneath him. "Great job, athletes! Which team fought the hardest? We've got the results! But first!" The man held up a finger to the athletes. "Who's overflowing with fighting spirit? A challenge bonus for the teams!" The numbers on the boards behind him began to change. "32 points for Team Lyra! 37 points for Team Yona! 32 points for Team Mac! 30 points for Team Holden!

"Now for the individual prizes...The no-miss bonus! Team Lyra's James and Jay jay!" Points were added to the red board. "Team Mac's snubbull!" Points were added to the green board. "Team Holden's stantler and girafarig!" Points were added to the yellow board. "That is all! Moving on to the points leader! Team Lyra's James!" More points were added to the red board. "That's all! Next up is the prize for effort. The pokemon that dashed the most. Team Lyra's Jay jay and Ta'jean!" I was surprised by how many extra points we were getting. Now the scores were: red 92, blue 37, green 52, yellow 40.

"Finally...we will add up the even points!" There was a drum roll in the background. The board's numbers began to flicker and change. The numbers rose. And finally, they stopped. "The overall winner, with a score of 389 points is...TEAM LYRA!" The crowd cheered.

"We won! We won!" Togi jumped up and down, holding on to my hands. "We won the whole thing!"

Aaron was smiling.

"We did win...didn't we?" I was a little shocked. After seeing us loose by such a drastic amount in the last event, I almost thought we wouldn't make it. But we ended up beating the green team by ten points. We really had won. "We won!" I picked up Togi and spun her in my arms.

"Congratulations Team Lyra! That was a wonderful performance! Keep aiming to be the top Pokeathlete!" The screen went dark again. The Pokeathlon logo flashed on the screen.


	21. Chapter 20

When Lyra came out of the arena, she was laughing and smiling. Jay jay, Ta'jean, and James were all behind her, all of them had a smile on their faces too. Aaron and Togi ran towards Jay jay.

"You won!" Togi jumped onto Jay jay. "You won you won you won!"

Aaron chuckled and removed Togi. "She has been like this the whole time you were away."

"Well, at least she is enthusiastic." Jay jay patted Togi's head. Togi laughed.

I patted Ta'jean on the shoulder. "Good job."

"I screwed up quite a bit, though..." Ta'jean scratched the back of his neck.

"But you still won," Aaron said. He came over to us. "And that is all that matters."

"I guess..." Ta'jean looked disappointed.

Lyra was busy talking to a receptionist. James was by her side. He had an arm around her shoulders while she had one around his waist. The two were finally close again. It seemed that Lyra was right. All he needed was to blow off a little bit of steam.

Lyra pointed to something on a shelf behind the receptionist. The receptionist turned around and plucked a small, red stone from the shelf. She then handed it to Lyra. Lyra gave her a card. The receptionist swiped it, then handed it back to Lyra, smiling.

"Come on!" I patted Ta'jean on the back. "Don't be so down!"

Ta'jean looked at me out of the corner of his eye, a little smile on his face.

"Okay team!" Lyra came over to us, as enthusiastic as ever. "It is still pretty early in the day. So were are going to go through the National Park, up Route 37, then rest at Ecruteak City, where the next gym is. Sound good?"

Everyone nodded. Togi let out a happy cheer.

Lyra nodded. "Then lets do this!"

The National Park was right next to the Dome. It was a large patch of long grass in the shape of a pokeball, with a fountain in the middle. A few trainers were waiting eagerly there, and we gave them more of a battle than they expected. In no time at all, we were already on Route 37.

We were walking under the trees on Route 37, trying to avoid the intense glare of the sun, when it finally hit me. This Route was the one my pack lived in. It was on this Route that I was hatched and raised. It was from this Route that I fled, and was caught by Lyra.

I stopped behind the rest of the team. James and Lyra, walking hand in hand. Jay jay and Aaron on either side of Togi. Ta'jean, who was walking next to me, now turned around and was looking at me, confused. "What is it?" He asked.

All the sounds, all the smells, it was all too familiar. I felt like I was going to faint. Then I heard a familiar, calming voice come from deep in the trees.

"Lector...?"

That name...it had been so long since I heard it.

I turned to my left, completely ignoring the whole team now. Deep in the forest, peeking out from behind a tree, was a face I knew all too well. She was a growlithe, like me. She was much smaller though, nearly half my height. She had the same orange pelt, with the same black stripes going across her back. Her tail was shorter than mine, barely falling to the center of her legs. Her hair was short and choppy, with those round, orange ears poking out. Her torso was the same pale yellow as her hair and tail.

"...Nina?" It came out as a question, even though it wasn't one. I knew very well who the young growlithe was.

"Brother, is that you?" Nina came forward. She threw a wary glance in the direction of my team. Ta'jean was the only one who noticed her. He kept his distance. The others didn't seem to notice yet, but when they did, it wouldn't be pretty.

"You finally came back!" Nina ran forward and jumped into my arms. I laughed and spun her around before putting her down. It was a habit, something we always did after we had been separated for too long. "Mother and Father have been so worried!" Nina paused for a second. "Actually the whole pack has been worried!"

Nina grabbed my hand and brought it to her cheek. "We are sorry for every thing that happened." She spoke in a quiet voice. "Oh Lector, where have you been?"

I felt a pang of guilt in my chest. I gently removed my hand. "Listen Nina..." I was unable to continue.

"Wha...?" Nina looked over to the team, who had now all taken notice of the commotion. They were all looking, waiting to see what would happen. "You didn't..."

"Kenji? Is everything okay?" Lyra asked.

"Kenji?! Kenji?!" Nina had a look of disbelief on her face. She took a step back from me. "Lector...you have been Named! You have been Caught! You...you're a trainer's weapon now!" She pointed a shaky finger at me as she continued to walk back. She backed into a tree. She kept her back pinned up against it, almost too afraid to move.

"Nina, that's not it..." I came walking towards her with my hands held out in front of me. "That's not it at all."

"Stay back!" Nina yelled. A shower of fireballs came out of her mouth and landed on my fur, where they slowly died off. She knew fire wouldn't harm me... So that must have been a warning shot. "Stay back or I will hurt you..." She was growling at me now.

"Sister, plea-"

"James! Bite!" Lyra didn't know what was going on at all. It wasn't like she could understand our conversation. All she saw was Nina trying to attack me. So she was going to defend me. But I couldn't let James attack. He would kill Nina. She was so weak, and he was so strong.

James was running forward. I held an arm out. James ran straight into it. He looked down at me. A look of concern, maybe. But there was also the usual anger in there. "What the hell, Kenji?!" He must have not heard any of the conversation either.

I looked over at Nina, who seemed traumatized. "Run! Run back to the pack! Tell them I will never return! Tell them I died!" Yes, in the eyes of my pack, death would be much more honorary than becoming a 'weapon' for a trainer.

Nina stayed. Just staring at me. "I said to run, you idiot!" I was yelling now.

Nina seemed to be awoken by this and she immediately took off. She ran through the trees and was gone in the blink of an eye.

"Someone seems to be having family problems." James smirked.

"Shove it!" I growled. I was not in the mood to deal with him.


	22. Chapter 21

We quickly made our way up Route 37. No one tried to talk to me, or even be close to me. They were either to afraid to talk, or they just didn't care. I hoped it wasn't the latter...

Night was starting to fall on us by the time we reached Ecruteak City. We rented out a room in the center and everyone knocked out.

As usual, I woke early. Almost to my delight, James wasn't in the room. I nearly ran out of the center. That was when I realized that we were not near the ocean. But I still heard the sound of running water, and that was probably where he was.

Sure enough, behind all the housed, was a small pond. James was in chest deep. He had his two hands cupped together close to his face. In them was a poliwag. It was a dark blue; its skin was covered in slime to keep it wet while it was out of the water. Its stomach was white with a black spiral on it. It had short, white hair. It had no arms. There was a tadpole-like tail coming out of its lower back.

The poliwag looked up at James. It seemed to have no fear.

I could only see James's back, but I was sure he was smiling. "Do you enjoy being free?" He asked it. The poliwag smiled and nodded its head. James chuckled. "Good. Enjoy it as much as you can, okay?"

The poliwag nodded again. James lowered his hands towards the water and let the small creature jump out of them.

James turned around. I quickly ducked behind a house. Then it dawned on me. Why was I even hiding? He probably knew I was out here.

"I can see your tail, Kenji."

I looked angrily over to my tail, which poked out past the side of the house. I wasn't angry that he knew I was out here, I was angrier that he found me when I tried to hide.

I came over to James and sat down on the grass next to the water. James came over and sat down on the edge of the pond, his feet still in the water.

"You don't look like a Lector," James finally said after a long pause.

I was almost baffled by what he said. I guess he had listened in. Finally I spoke up. "I was a weak pup. My parents hoped a strong name would give me a strong spirit too."

"Well that didn't work very well." James muttered. I glared at him, then kicked him in the small of his back. He went toppling forward into the water.

He brought his head just above the water and glared at me with his golden eyes. "I would so drag you in if I wasn't so sure it would kill you."

"Actually, only Water moves hurt me. That kind of water, it won't hurt me. I just don't like it." Why did I say that?

"Well then," an evil smile crossed James face. His blue, scaled hand gripped my foot.

"Hey! No need to make any rash decisions!" I tried to get away.

It was too late. James yanked me into the water. When I came up, my body was shaking. I had never been fully submerged in water. It felt strange. A little soothing, but still very strange.

"What they hell!" I splashed water in James's direction.

"Splash away." James spread his arms wide. "This is my element. It doesn't bother me at all."

"Your element, huh?" I smiled. "What if I drown you? Would it still be your element?" I lept out of the water at James. The water clung to my fur and slowed down my movements dramatically. This water was very strange indeed.

I was standing over James, holding him down, a leg on either side of his body. When I took my hands off of him, he bobbed to the surface. My feet were no longer touching the bottom of the pond. I was now straddling his torso. "I can float." He smiled.

"Stupid..." I grumbled and looked away. James laughed.

The stars had a bright, shimmering reflection in the pitch black water. Now that the movement had stopped, the water was still, perfectly reflecting the scene in the sky. It almost gave the illusion that we were floating in the night sky.

The dark water gently lapped against James's sides and my legs, letting out a soothing sound. I could almost fall asleep.

James was no longer laughing, but he still had a small smile on his face. I suddenly felt embarrassed and looked down at my hands. They were placed firmly on his chest. I slid my hands down his chest, closer to me. I could feel his muscles under the thin layer of scales.

James raised a hand out of the water. Wet fingers brushed against the fur on my face, leaving a trail of tiny water droplets.

I felt my body go limp. I didn't want to think about anything or anyone. I just wanted to freeze time at this very moment.

I laid my body on top of James. His legs and torso were much longer than mine. My head rested on his lower chest.

Nothing was said between the two of us. James ran his clawed hands through my hair. I had my arms around his body, so my hands now rested on his back, under the water, just beneath a couple of his spikes.

James ran his fingers through my hair one last time. Then he gently brought both hands down my back. My fur stood on end. My heart started beating faster. I hoped that he couldn't hear it.

James firmly grabbed my butt. I immediately got up, lost my balance, and fell off of James and into the water. "Idiot!" I yelled at him when my head surfaced.

"What?" James stood up. He actually looked confused.

"Why'd you do that!?" I shouted, looking angrily up at James.

"Isn't that where the mutt from Sinnoh touches you?" James was pissed. His voice was on the edge of a growl. His upper lip was raised slightly, revealing the sharp, white teeth beneath.

"Mutt from...You mean Ta'jean? He has never touched me before!" I grew more and more angry with every word I said.

"Fucking lies!" James's voice was calm, but angry none-the-less. I suddenly felt fear. Right now, I was in his element. He could kill me if he wanted to. "I saw him kiss you that night!"

Oh no. It all made sense now. James was jealous of how much I hung out with Ta'jean. That explained the evil looks he always gave him. And he was awake that night when Ta'jean kissed me. That was why he was so pissed off the next day. That was why he killed the trainer's pikachu. That was why he nearly went wild at the Dome. Was it really all because of me?

But what was I to say back to him. I didn't know how to respond. It was true, the kiss and all, but Ta'jean never touched me. Ever.

"Ta'jean never touched me," I said in a straight voice, trying to hide my fear. "He only kissed me once. I think he wasn't in his right mind when he did it either."

"He still did it." James was growling now. "He should have never done it."

"Why? Because you saw me first and claimed me?" I growled back at him.

James lowered his head so his eyes were now on my level. That deep gold once again became so threatening. "Yes."

I slapped his face. A loud echo bounced off the houses around us. James raised a hand to his cheek. I had hit the same one with the scar.

"I do not belong to you!" I yelled. With that, I stormed off. I stopped half way to the center and shook my body, letting all the loose water droplets fling from my fur. But not once did I look back at James.

I couldn't believe that he thought he owned me. It wasn't right for him to say something like that. He was acting like a possessive female!

I curled up in our room, still grumbling to my self, even as the sun rose and the rest of the team started to wake.


	23. Chapter 22

"Okay, so here is the plan." The team was standing in front of the center, eagerly awaiting Lyra's instructions. "First we will check out Burned Tower. After that, we will go to the city gym. It is Ghost type so I will probably just use James, Aaron, and Togi."

Togi and Aaron nodded. James was too busy glaring at me. I was hanging all over Ta'jean, constantly talking to him and making as much contact as I could with him. I was testing James, seeing how long I could screw with him until he snapped. I was having fun.

The Burned Tower was in the furthest left corner of the city. It had once been a magnificent tower, almost out showing the Bell Tower. But one day it caught fire, and collapsed on itself. Now it is simply a one story reminder of what once was.

The inside was covered with holes and fallen, half burnt, pieces of wood. There was a giant hole in the center of the floor, but it was too dark to see what was down there.

There was a man who approached us when we went inside. He was wearing an all purple suit with a white cape that was sealed together in the front with a red bow tie. His blond hair was slicked back, except for one small piece in the front, that poked up and out over his forehead.

"My name is Eusine," he told us, right off the bat. He spoke in a calm voice. "I am on the trail of a pokemon named suicune. Wait...who are you?"

"Lyra." Lyra held out her hand. Eusine shook it.

"Well Lyra, I'm glad to meet you."

"You said you were tracking suicune, a Legendary. Well, what are you doing here?" Lyra asked. She seemed to be a little happy that a sane man approached her this time, unlike crazy Magnus.

"I heard rumors that suicune is here, so I came to look. I believe it is down in the basement, just through that hole in the floor, but it is too dark to see down. But I know suicune is down there. I can feel it. I would go down myself, but I know the suicune would run away. I know this because I have tried the same method many times. It never works..."

"Hey, I will go check it out for you, if you want me too. Maybe suicune is expecting you, and will be caught off guard when it sees me." Lyra smiled and put a hand on Eusine's shoulder.

Eusine looked down at Lyra's hand, then up at her face. "There seems to be more than meets the eye with you..." His voice trailed off for a second. "Yes, I think you should try that!" Eusine smiled. "There is a ladder further back that you can use to get down. A strange boy went over there, though. Just tell me if he gives you any problems, okay?"

"Okay!" Lyra gave Eusine a thumbs-up.

Standing in the back of the building, looking down the ladder, was Brandon. He looked up when he heard Lyra's foot steps. He approached her.

Brandon was quiet for a second before he finally spoke up. "You must be here to catch the Legendary pokemon to make yourself look strong. That is just a petty dream. You see, the Legendary pokemon suit a trainer like me," as Brandon said this, he pointed a finger to his chest. "Someone who had sworn to become the strongest trainer."

Lyra lifted an eyebrow and scoffed. "Really?" she asked, nearly laughing.

"The best thing you will ever get is a battle with Team Rocket's grunts! And I will prove it to you! Go gastly!" Brandon threw a pokeball forward and a gastly came out.

"Glad we no longer look alike." I heard Aaron grumble from behind me.

"James, Crunch!" James dug his teeth into the gastly. It was out instantly.

"Weak as always...Go bayleef!"

"Kenji, I am counting on you. Do you think you can do it this time?" Lyra asked me. I nodded. "Okay, then, go Kenji!"

I stepped forward. The bayleef took one look at me and smiled. "Little weak fool," it said.

I didn't say a word. I simply smiled. My moves would do the talking.

"Kenji, Flame Wheel!" I closed my right hand into a tight fist and held it in front of me. Several balls of fire began to circle my body. As I slowly began to open my fist, they began to get larger. Finally, I thrust an open palm towards the bayleef.

The bayleef screeched when my fire hit it. It was defeated in just that one move. I laughed. "So much for weak fool."

"You disappoint me bayleef. What ever. Go magnemite!" The magnemite had a silver body. Its upper arms were black, its lower arm on the left side was blue, while on the right side, it was red. Its upper legs were black, while its lower leg on the left was red, and the lower leg on the right side was blue. It only had one eye, placed in the center of its face. Its hair was grey, with blue and red tips.

"Kenji stay in. It is Steel so you can easily take it down."

I nodded.

"Kenji, Flame Wheel!" I repeated the same motions, ending with the same result. The magnemite was out.

"Zubat! Teach these idiots a lesson!"

"Go Togi!" Almost surprised her name was called out, Togi stepped forward.

"Zubat, use Supersonic!" The zubat thrust its arms and wings forward. Faint yellow rings went floating towards Togi. They moved to slow, though, and Togi just stepped out of the way.

"Togi, use Extrasensory!" Togi closed her eyes and held her hands out in front of her face. The zutbat's ears twitched. Then it began to bleed out of the corner of its mouth. The zubat let out a low, chatty noise. Togi made it angry.

"Don't think I am going out on you that easy! Zubat! Wing Attack!" The zubat flapped its wings repeatedly, then ended with one final, gigantic flap. A huge gust of air whipped past us and knocked Togi off of her feet.

"Extrasensory again Togi!" Togi, still on the ground, closed her eyes again. This time the zubat began to scream. Blood started pouring out of its mouth. It fell over, gasping and gurgling.

"Humph!" Brandon held out his empty pokeball and let the zubat return. "Well...whatever! You would never be able to catch a legendary pokemon anyway!" Brandon pushed Lyra out of the way and left the Burned Tower.

"Well, now that all of that is over..." Lyra walked over to the ladder and looked down. "What do you all say? Ready to confront our first Legendaries?!" The team cheered.

It was pitch black in the basement. I could barely see two inches in front of my own face. I would imagine that the only one who could actually see would be Aaron.

"Stay close guys. I don't want any one getting lost," Lyra whispered.

Then, the sound of thunder echoed through out the basement. It was loud enough to break eardrums. I flattened my ears against my head, trying to protect them from the loud noise. Then the whole basement was lit up. Standing in front of us, were three, huge Legendary pokemon.

The first one, I had heard of. It was called entei. It was a Fire Legendary. It was covered with a thick, brown fur. There was a patch of pale yellow fur going down the center of its torso. It's hands and feet were silver. It had black bands around its upper arms and upper legs. It had a mask covering its face. Its mask had two points that came around its mouth, those parts were grey. The two points that branched out from either eye were red. The two points that came by the top of its head were yellow. The mask almost seemed like some weird star with too many points. The entei had short, choppy brown hair that almost blended in with its fur. A thick, grey smoke floated around the entei.

The second one was a Thunder Legendary. It must have been the one that lit up the room. It was covered in a short, wiry yellow fur. It's torso was white. There were black, zigzagging patterns on its shoulders, hips and back. Its hands and feet resembled claws more than paws. They were white, and each finger ended at a point. This one was wearing a mask too. The bottom part of the mask was blue and came to a point in four spots, two on either side of its face. The top part of the mast was black. It started at its nose, then branched just above its eyes. It had a thin, blue tail, which came out of its back in sharp zigzags. It had short, wavy, white hair. Purple clouds rolled around its body. Thunder seemed to rumble inside of them.

The third one was a Water Legendary. Its whole body was a fluffy blue; save for its white torso and white diamonds that ran up and down its sides. This one wore a simple mask, that was light blue and diamond shaped. It had long purple hair, that seemed to be blowing in the wind, even though there wasn't even a draft in this basement. White wisps of clouds floated around it.

I suddenly felt over powered. All of these pokemon were huge, much taller than James. They didn't look angry, or mean. The pure power that seemed to flow off of their bodies was the only thing that was really threatening.

I let out a whine and tucked my tail between my legs. The rest of the team was having the same effects. Aaron and Jay jay had their feet firmly planted on the ground, and were looking down. Ta'jean had his tail tucked like mine, and his ears were back flat against his head. Togi was looking away. Even James was looking down.

The entei and the Thunder Legendary let out a roar. The whole team nearly jumped. The two then ran off.

The Water Legendary let out a roar, and was about to run off, when it took another look at Lyra and stopped in its tracks. It walked over to her.

Lyra was mesmerized. She was simply looking up at the Legendary with wide eyes. The Water Legendary looked down at Lyra with curiosity. Then it lifted its diamond mask up, revealing a white face with red eyes beneath.

"My, my. You _are _quite interesting..." It said. The voice took me off guard. It was female! I never knew there was a Legendary female!

There was a faint roar off in the distance. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" The Water Legendary shouted. It slipped its mask on back over its face and ran off.

Eusine came quickly down the ladder. "Did you see it?! I only saw a blue blur, but I still saw it! I have been chasing suicune for ten years, but I have never been this close to it!"

"Wow...ten years..." Lyra muttered.

"Oh, by the way. It seemed that suicune took a notice of your presence. Ecruteak's Legendary pokemon are said to come to people only when they recognize their talents." So suicune was the Water one. I wonder who the Thunder one was...

"There is nothing talented about me," Lyra said.

"Well maybe you are to do something great in the future, then." Eusine looked at his watch. "Oh no! I have to go! I am sure we will meet again Lyra!" Eusine shook Lyra's hand, then took off.

Lyra still seemed a little mesmerized. "Wow... I came face-to-face with a Legendary..."


	24. Chapter 23

This had to be the worst situation I could have possibly have gotten myself in to. Alone with Ta'jean, in the room Lyra rented out in the center. We sat on either side of the room. I was trying my hardest not to look at him, but he was staring directly at me.

Lyra had gone with the rest of the team to the gym. She had to leave Ta'jean behind because the gym was Ghost, and he wouldn't do much damage. I volunteered to stay behind with him, mostly just to see the look on James's face. It worked, he let out a low growl and glared at me, but not much else.

And now here I am, stuck in a room with Ta'jean, simply because I wanted to screw with James. Great. I guess I deserved it for being stupid.

"Not looking won't make me go away," Ta'jean said. He got up and walked towards me.

I nearly jumped out of my fur. The sudden words scared me half to death. I still tried to look away as he came and sat down next to me.

Ta'jean put his hand on my shoulder. It didn't feel right when he touched me. It didn't feel like it had when James touched me. James...I hope I hadn't ticked him off too much.

No! I will not think of him right now! It will only cloud my thoughts.

"What's up with you?"

I finally looked up at Ta'jean. His eyes shimmered, he looked sad. "I...What do you mean?" I asked.

Ta'jean sighed. His hand slid from my shoulder. "I think you know what I mean. Today, you were hanging all over me, talking to me like you use to before I..." He paused. "But now you are avoiding me."

I looked at Ta'jean. I couldn't possibly tell him that I was doing it just to get a reaction out of James. I opened my mouth to say something, then closed it, unable to think of a decent excuse. I let my eyes fall back to the ground. I brought my knees up to my face and hugged my legs.

"Is it because of me?"

I looked up at Ta'jean. "No...of course not!"

"Then what is it?"

I looked back down. I released my legs, letting them extend. "I don't..." I just couldn't think of something.

Ta'jean put his hand on my face. My eyes grew wide. He wasn't going to...

He did. Ta'jean turned my head and kissed me again. This one was much longer than the last. I felt dizzy.

Ta'jean pulled away. He looked at me and smiled. He came back to me, pressing his lips against mine again. He put all of his weight against mine and I was knocked down to the floor, with him on top of me.

My mouth opened slightly and he took advantage of that, moving his tongue into my mouth. My thoughts were spinning, colliding with each other, and making it impossible to think.

Our lips were still together. Ta'jean was moving his hands across my body, his hands gently gliding above my fur. His hands moved down my torso, and rested in between my legs.

My eyes snapped open. But Ta'jean reacted faster. He flung his body off of mine, breathing heavily. I sat up and looked at him. His fur was on end, a look of shock in his eyes. What did I do?

"You're a male!?" Ta'jean finally spat out.

I looked at him, a little perplexed and a little amused. "Of course I am a male! Does it look like I have tits?!" I brought my hands to my chest, as to emphasize the point. "Does Kenji sound like a female's name?!"

Ta'jean raised his hand to his head. "You just acted like one..." He rubbed both of his temples with his fingers, thinking hard. "You just had so many feminine mannerisms."

A look of realization suddenly appeared on Ta'jean's face. "I kissed you!" He yelled, pointing a finger at me. "I tried to...AGHHHH!" He ran his hands through his hair. "Why didn't you stop me!?"

I shrugged, smiling a little at how much Ta'jean was freaking out. It was quite amusing. "I didn't care much."

"You!" Ta'jean's eyes grew narrow. "You're gay aren't you!?"

I shrugged, despite the harsh tone in Ta'jean's voice. "I suppose."

"You...you..." Ta'jean paused, holding his head in his hands. Finally he looked up again. He sighed. "I can't say I hate you. I just..." He paused again, trying to think.

I stood up and walked over to Ta'jean. I placed my hand on his head. He flinched at first from my touch, but then recovered. "Its okay. I understand." He looked up at me and I smiled.

"You're not going to...?"

"What? Rape you while you sleep?" I laughed but Ta'jean had a look of uncertainty on his face. "No, of course not. I wasn't very interested in you anyway." I ruffled his hair.

"Hey!" Ta'jean looked up at me, a little mad. I laughed.

Just then, we heard the doors of the center fly open, and the familiar voices of the rest of the team. I held out my hand to Ta'jean. He was a little hesitant, but finally took it. I pulled him to his feet and we went out to go greet the team.

When we went out into the center, the first thing I noticed was that Togi had evolved. She was taller now, almost as tall as Jay jay. Her skin was now a solid white, with blue and red triangles on her stomach. Her white hair was spiked, with blue and red tips. She had two small, white wings coming out from her shoulder blades.

"Okay team!" Lyra clapped her hands together. "Since we were able to successfully take down the Ecruteak gym, we will head to the next town. We don't have a lot of time before sundown, so we might have to hurry." She looked at all of us. "Ready?" We nodded.


	25. Chapter 24

Route 38 and 39 were quite short, but they were littered with trainers. It took us much longer than expected. By the time we had reached Olivine City, the sun was far down beneath the horizon.

We passed the city gym as we were walking to the center. Just as we walked past it, the doors opened up and Brandon walked out. He glared at Lyra for a couple of seconds, then walked over to her.

"You again?" He asked.

"If it is a battle you are here for, then I am ready!" Lyra brought her hands to her belt with the empty pokeballs on it.

Brandon laughed. "There's no need to be alert. I don't bother with wimps like you."

"Wimp? Didn't I beat you in the last battle?" Lyra laughed.

Brandon waved a hand in the air as if to push the question away. "Speaking of weaklings," he continued, as if Lyra hadn't even said anything, "The city's gym leader isn't here, and is supposedly taking care of a sick pokemon at the lighthouse. Humph! Boo-hoo! Lets all cry for the sick pokemon! She should just let it go! A pokemon that can't battle is worthless!"

"Wow...harsh..." Lyra said quietly.

"Well, in the mean time, why don't you go train at the lighthouse? It might actually make you a better trainer."

"Hey! I am already better than you!" Lyra yelled. But Brandon had already started to walk away. "Humph! Arrogant little punk!" Lyra yelled after him. He kept walking.

Lyra looked back at us. "Well lets just head to the center. Tomorrow we will train at the lighthouse, then see if the Olivine gym is open yet."

I couldn't sleep at all that night. I made sure the rest of the team was asleep before I got up and left the center.

Olivine city was on the edge of the beach. At the far end, there was a port filled with boats. I sat down on a bench near the edge of the city. One group of people were just pulling their boat in to the port. They were tying it to the docks. I watched them as they went about their business, not even aware I was there.

A few minutes passed, and I heard footsteps behind me. I whirled around and saw James standing behind me. "This is one of the cities I have always wanted to see," he said quietly.

"Cause it is on a beach?" I asked, looking forward again.

"Yeah. And because the people actually go in the water. In most areas, the people are too afraid of what might be in the water, so they never go in. But here, they have to. The city relies on it."

"Hmm..." I watched as the group of people walked off the docks. They walked right past us, not even seeing us.

"Listen..." James came around and sat down on the same bench as me. "I wanted to say that...about last night, and all...well, I just...I feel bad and all...so...I'm sorry..."

I looked at James. A wide smile crept across my face. "Are you actually apologizing?! I didn't know those words were in your vocabulary!" I started laughing.

James growled and punched me in the shoulder.

"Sorry, sorry," I said. I was finally able to stop laughing, but I still had the smile on my face.

"Thanks," James grumbled. "You're really helping."

"You know, I am sorry, too. About trying to make you jealous today."

"You were doing that on purpose!?"

"I was just getting you back for what you said last night."

"I thought you already got me back when you slapped my face!"

I shrugged. "Guess I just wanted to mess with you."

"You're horrible," James muttered.

"You know you love it," I said in a sing-song voice.

"I would rather sit in a pit of Grass types."

"No need to be so cynical," I laughed.

"Whatever..."

There was a silence between us for a second. It wasn't awkward or anything. It was actually calming.

"You should be more like this with the rest of the team," I said.

"Hmm?" James turned towards me.

"You are always with Lyra, and you never actually talk to anyone else much. You should."

"Don't have a reason to talk to them."

"And you have reasons to talk to me?"

"You're different."

"Gee, thanks!"

"Well, you are. I can't put a finger on it, but somehow, you are different than the rest of the team." James was back to looking out at the water.

"I don't think I am very different," I muttered.

"Think what you will." James shrugged.

The silence was back again. This time it was broken by my yawn. "Holy crap! I think I am actually tired!"

"Surprise, surprise. Why don't you go back in the center and go to sleep?"

"Eh," I rubbed the back of my neck. I thought of Ta'jean, who had slept on the opposite side of the room tonight. I guess he was kinda spooked by me. "Ta'jean and I had a little incident while you guys were at the gym. It is just a little weird to be in the same room with him."

"What did he do to you!?" James quickly stood up. He turned to me and put his hands on my shoulders, looking into my eyes. "Do I have to hurt him!?"

My eyes were wide with shock for a second. Then a smile spread across my face. "Well, well. Look at who is getting all protective. I thought you were only like that with Lyra."

James looked at me, shocked. He let go of my shoulders and sat down next to me, not looking at me. "If he hurt you, I will kill him," he said in a voice that was nearly a whisper.

I laughed. "Don't worry. All you need to know is that you won't have to hate him so much anymore."

I was looking out at the sea. I could see James looking at me from out of the corner of my eye. Suddenly, James grabbed me in his arms and embraced me. I was a little shocked by the sudden motion.

My back was against James's torso. He had his arms wrapped around me. His head was leaned against mine. I decided not to question him. His body was cold, and soothing. I felt my eyes slowly close and I drifted off to sleep.


	26. Chapter 25

"There you guys are!" I jumped at the sound of Lyra's voice. My eyes flung open and I fell out of James's arms.

I guess I had actually fallen asleep. The sun was now starting to rise in the sky. Lyra was walking over to us, the team trailing behind her.

"Come on, guys! We are gonna go train at the lighthouse!"

James got up, looked down at me and smiled, then walked over to Lyra. I got up off the ground and joined them.

"You sure do work fast," Ta'jean said.

I sighed. "It's a long story."

The lighthouse was on the edge of the city. It towered high over every house in the small beach-side town. Inside were multiple trainers on each level. Most of them used Water types, so I couldn't fight much. But when there was an occasional Flying type, Lyra was sure to send me out. It took some time, but we finally reached the top floor.

On the top floor, was a person and a pokemon. The person was a girl, a very young one at that. She was wearing a simple green dress. She had long brown hair, with two pig-tails that stuck up on either side of the front of her head. She noticed us as soon as we entered the top floor. She was Jasmine, the leader of the city gym.

Next to her, was an ampharos. It was a tall, lean pokemon. Its body was almost all yellow, save for its white torso. It had a yellow tail that came out of its lower back, which was topped off with a small, red ball. Its tail had three black circles around the end. It also had three black circles around its yellow neck. There was a red gem in the center of its forehead, that was partially covered by its black hair. Yellow ears with black stripes poked out of its black hair.

The ampharos didn't look healthy. It was sitting down with its head low. Its hair hung in its face. Its breaths came out in slow rasps.

Jasmine approached us. "Are you heading to Cianwood any time soon?" She asked Lyra.

"It was going to be my next stop after challenging this city's gym," Lyra replied.

"This ampharos is really sick. It use to light up the sea at night, and help ships reach the port safely, but then it got sick. Now it is having trouble breathing. There is a wonderful pharmacy in Cianwood, but it is across the sea, and I can't leave Amphy alone! May I ask you to visit the pharmacy and get the medicine for me?"

Lyra didn't even hesitate. "You can count on me!"

Jasmine nodded. "Thank you. But please do hurry. I don't know how long Amphy can last."

"Okay team, change of plans," Lyra told us once we got out of the lighthouse. "We are going to go to Cianwood first. We will visit the pharmacy. Then we will come back here, heal the ampharos, then challenge the gym here."

We reached the beach on the edge of Olivine City, when Lyra stopped again. "Sorry guys," she told us. "You guys are going to have to go back into your pokeballs. I have prolonged it as much as I could, but I can't any longer. The only way to get across the sea would be on James's back."

I let out an annoyed groan. It had been awhile since I had been back in my ball. I didn't enjoy the forced feeling of sleep at all. But I guess that in this situation, it would be the only option.

"Okay team, return!" Lyra threw five pokeballs in the air. One by one, we were surrounded by the red light. I felt the light lull me to sleep. I closed my eyes right as I was sucked in.


	27. Chapter 26

"Come out, team! We are now here at Cianwood City!"

I rubbed my eyes as I came out of my ball. We were on a pretty small island. There was a small beach, and that was the whole city. The rest of the island was mountainous and didn't look very inhabited.

"Lets head straight to the pharmacy and get that medicine!"

The pharmacy was right next to the center. It was a small shack that looked like it didn't have much to offer. Inside, there was a man sitting behind the counter, reading a book.

"Um, excuse me? Do you have any medicine?" Lyra asked.

"Medicine?" The man looked up from his book. "You don't look very sick?"

"No, see its not for me. Its for a-"

"Do you got a Storm Badge?" The man asked suddenly, cutting Lyra off.

"What?"

"A Storm Badge. Do you got one?"

"Well, no. But this-"

"Then I can't sell anything to you." The man raised the book back to his face.

"But-"

"Nope."

"What if-"

"Nope."

Lyra stormed out of the pharmacy. "Since that piece of crap won't let us get medicine, it looks like we are going to have to defeat the gym here!"

"I don't think I have seen her so angry before," I said.

"A life is in danger and someone is being ridiculous and won't let her help. I would be mad, too," Jay jay replied.

"It just seems so...unlike her," I muttered.

The inside of the Cianwood gym was mostly a mountain, with water flowing down the center of it. Trainers were scattered along the mountain, waiting for a fight. And we made sure to give them a good one. The gym was mostly Fighting types, so Jay jay and Togi were used quite frequently.

The gym leader, Chuck, was standing under the waterfall in the middle of the gym. He didn't notice Lyra when she approached. "Chuck! I am here to challenge you!" She yelled out. But he still didn't hear her.

Lyra groaned. "I have no time for this," she murmured. She grabbed Chucks arm and yanked the heavy-set gym leader out from under the waterfall.

Chuck seemed like a guy you didn't want to mess with. He had a big build, and most of it was muscle. He stood shirtless, showing everything that was beneath. He wore tattered pink pants that cut off just above his shoeless feet. Atop his head was a spiky tuft of brown hair that went down the sides of his face, then joined together under his nose, forming a mustache.

He looked down at Lyra. "Why did you pull me out from under the waterfall?!" He bellowed.

"Because I am here to challenge you!" Lyra yelled back, at almost equal volume.

"You just spoiled my training! I have to warn you that I am a strong Trainer! I train every day under this waterfall!"

"Training under a waterfall has nothing to do with pokemon!" Lyra yelled. Then under her voice, so only the team could hear, she said, "Dip shit."

"It has nothing to do with pokemon?!" Chuck raised a finger as if he was going to make a point. "That's true!" He said loudly. Then he lowered his finger. A frown appeared on his face as he tried to think of what to say next.

"Well...?"

"Come on then! We shall battle!" He finally said. "Go primeape!" The primeape was a short, fat pokemon. Its torso and head were covered in a thick tan fur. Its arms and legs were covered in short brown fur. It had spiky brown hair with tan ears poking out of it. It took one look at Lyra, and instantly its eyebrows went down, giving it an utterly angry look.

"Go Jay jay!" Jay jay stepped forward. She had an excited smile on her face. She had never been used against a gym leader before, and she couldn't wait.

"Primeape! Double Team!" The primeape stood still, then widened its stance. Suddenly, multiple primeapes began to appear. They all encircled Jay jay. She looked around, confused, not knowing which one to hit.

"Jay jay! Psybeam all of them!" Jay jay put one hand overlapping the other, with her palms out. She closed her eyes and spun slowly. A florescent purple, yellow, and green beam was shot from her hands. It hit each of the primeapes as she turned. Every false primeape that was hit simply disappeared.

Finally she hit the right primeape. As soon as the Psybeam made contact with it, it went flying backwards. It did a flip in the air and landed on its feet in the water, using an arm to prop its self up.

"Rock Slide!" The primeape brought its open hand up, then clenched it into a fist. There was a rumbling noise as rocks from the mountain that surrounded us became loose, and then began to fall.

"Jay jay, get out of the way!" Togi yelled. And for a moment, everything seemed to freeze. Jay jay was looking over at Togi, with a look of confusion on her face. Then, a small smile passed over her lips, as a form of reassurance. It was her way of telling Togi that it was all okay, that she had this. It was her first leader battle, and she was going to win.

Then the rocks crushed her. So much dust was kicked up that we could not see the results of the attack for a few seconds. Then the dust settled. A sharp squeal came from Togi. Ta'jean let out a whine. Aaron gasped. James let out a sickened groan. I whined and pressed my ears flat against my head.

All that could be seen was a blue arm and some strands of blue hair, sticking out from under a pile of massive rocks. An ever growing puddle of blood surrounded the rocks. It mixed in with the water, slowing disappearing as the current continued down stream.

Lyra had her head down. Her voice was deep when she finally spoke. "James...crush it..."

James ran forward and dug his teeth into the primeape with vicious force. He tore at it with his claws and then flung its body into the mountain side. His face was wet with water from the river...or maybe it was tears.

"Go poliwrath!" Chuck threw another pokeball, taking his primeape in to its.

"James! Slash!" Lyra's voice cracked. She raised her head and tears were flowing down her cheeks. James lunged forward and mauled the poliwrath with his claws.

"Aaron...Togi...please dig her out..." Lyra whispered over her shoulder. Aaron and Togi rushed forward. They started digging the stones off of Jay jay, throwing them off to the side as they went.

"Poliwrath! Surf!" The poliwrath raised its arms. A huge wave gushed forward and crashed on top of James. James got up, looking almost completely unfazed.

"Slash again!" Lyra yelled. James ran forward and tore up the poliwrath's face.

I heard Togi start to sob as they unearthed Jay jay. I was about to run over, but Ta'jean held out an arm and stopped me. The fur on his face was damp with tears. "Let her grieve," he whispered.

"Surf!" Once again, a wave crashed over James. He got up once more. His knees shook, and he almost fell over, but he caught himself and rose to his feet.

"Finish it, James!" James ran forward and knocked the poliwrath to the ground, digging his teeth into its shoulder. It was finally over.

Togi and Aaron now had Jay jay completely uncovered. Her body was crushed. Her wings were ripped, almost torn completely from her body. Her red eyes were shut. Her blue hair was matted with blood and dirt.

Aaron held her in his arms. "It wasn't supposed to happen yet... This is to soon..."

Togi was on her knees next to Aaron. Her hands were up to her face, covering her eyes as she wept.

Ta'jean had his hand against his forehead, looking down. I think he was crying too.

I could feel the tears soaking my fur. She was so eager, so excited. And now, it was over. She was gone. Did she rush into a battle she couldn't handle, or were the odds just against her?

James had his head down and his eyes closed, silently mourning Jay jay.

Lyra walked over to Chuck. He said nothing. He just held out his hand, which had a badge in the center. Lyra snatched the badge and walked away.

"I'm sorry," Chuck said to her back. Lyra didn't turn around. We followed her out the door.

A wooden cross was added to the beach that afternoon, with the name 'Jay Jay' carved into it. Onlookers would not have a clue about what it meant. But it wasn't for them. The one who it was for, she knew what it meant, and that was all that mattered.

**To tell you the truth, Jay jay wasn't suppose to die. I actually wanted to keep her until the end of the story. But every time I battled Chuck, she would die. **


	28. Chapter 27

Lyra slammed the Storm Badge down on the pharmacy's counter. "Can I get the damn medicine now?" She asked. Her eyes were still red, and there were tracks on her cheeks from the tears.

Without saying anything, or even looking up from his book, the man behind the counter tossed a little yellow bag at Lyra. Lyra opened the bag and poured the contents out into her hand. They were small, red pellets, no bigger than a pebble. Lyra cupped her hand and poured the medicine back into the bag. She turned to leave.

"You're welcome!" The man behind the counter said, still not looking up from his book.

Lyra's brow furrowed. She quickly turned on the ball of her foot and walked back over to the counter. She snatched the book out of the man's hands and ripped it in half down the paper binding. She chucked the two parts of the book against the far wall with extreme force. "Your welcome!" She yelled in the same tone of voice, then walked out the door.

Lyra was at the outskirts of the town, standing knee deep in the water. She took Jay jay's death the hardest. I knew she would blame herself, even though it wasn't her fault. I thought of a way to comfort her, but I couldn't come up with a way. James would have to be the one to do it. He was her starter, after all.

The team stood behind Lyra, on the sands of the beach, just watching her. Finally, James stepped forward. He placed a hand on Lyra's shoulder. She turned around and flung herself in to James, weeping for the lost teammate.

Then a roar echoed out. It was so loud, I thought I would go deaf. I put my hands over my ears during the duration of the roar, but it didn't muffle the sound at all. The thing that was roaring had to be right behind us.

My mind told me not to turn around, but my body did it anyway. Standing directing behind the team was Suicune. She stood tall, with her mask down and her purple hair flowing from behind her. She began to walk towards us, and the team parted in the middle to let her pass. She seemed to be walking towards Lyra.

James let go of Lyra and joined the rest of the team on the beach. Lyra looked up and saw Suicune walking towards her. Lyra jumped a little and took a step or two backwards, deeper into the ocean.

As Suicune walked forward, her feet did not enter the water. She simply walked on top of it. With Lyra knee deep in the water, and Suicune standing on top of it, Lyra seemed dwarfed.

Suicune pulled her mask up, letting it sit on top of her head. She reached a hand towards Lyra, who shrunk away for a second. "Do not be afraid, child," Suicune said in a soothing voice.

Lyra looked up at Suicune, confused. Did she actually understand it? That was weird. I was positive no human could understand us.

Suicune put a hand on either side of Lyra's head. For a minute, Lyra's pupils dilated and took up most of her eyes. She looked up at Suicune with amazement.

"You can now see what we actually look like," Suicune said. "You can now see what almost no other human can, our true forms. You can now see the way we look through our eyes."

Lyra looked past Suicune, at the team. Her eyes grew wide. "Have they always..."

Suicune removed her hands from Lyra's face. "Yes. You were just never able to see it before."

Lyra looked back at Suicune. "Have you always been able to...talk?"

Suicune nodded. "Now you will understand you team too."

Lyra looked at us again. We all stood there, tear stained faces looking down at our feet, as Lyra looked. Lyra steeped toward us, then whirled around to say something to Suicune, but she was already gone. No where in sight.

Lyra turned back to us. James held out a clawed hand to help lift Lyra from the water. Lyra looked at it for a second, then slowly placed her hand in it. "You all look...so different. Yet somehow, you look the same." Her eyes drifted from one member of the team to the next.

Lyra's eyes fell to the ground. "How...did Jay jay look?"

"Beautiful," Aaron said. Lyra looked up at him, almost as if she thought he wouldn't respond to the question.

"Amazing," Togi whispered.

"Wonderful," I spoke up.

"Stunning," Ta'jean said.

"Unlike any I have seen before," James said.

Lyra's eyes began to fill with tears again. "I miss her already!" She flung herself into James's arms. Aaron went over and hugged the two of them. I went over and joined the group. Ta'jean and Togi joined not long after.

We stayed there for some time on the beach, embracing each other. We all seemed to be feeling each other's emotions. I believe everyone was crying.


	29. Chapter 28

We had reached the lighthouse just as the sun was going down. We were able to get the medicine to the ampharos in time. Jasmine thanked us over and over again, then invited us to battle her at her gym. Lyra thanked her, but said she needed to get sleep tonight, and she would stop by tomorrow.

Now the whole team was sleeping on the floor. Well, all but me. I had woken up, but didn't want to move. Lyra's head was on my chest, and she was fast asleep. The rest of the team was around her too. James was on one side and Togi was on the other, both of them holding hands with Lyra as they slept. Ta'jean was curled up by her feet. Aaron was floating next to her, arms crossed, eyes closed.

I tried to get comfortable, but Lyra's head seemed like such a weight on my chest. Finally, I let out a sigh, giving up.

I felt Lyra stir. She let go of James and Togi's hands. She turned on her belly and looked at me. "I know you can never sleep through a full night. It's okay. You can leave for the rest of the night." She sounded a little sleepy.

"Thanks," I whispered, sitting up. But the truth was, I didn't want to go out without James.

"And you can take this one too." Lyra pointed her thumb over to James. He opened one golden eye and looked at both of us.

"I was hoping you wouldn't notice," he whispered.

"You're my starter, James. I can tell when you are awake. Now get out of here you two, before you wake the rest of the team." Lyra shooed us away with a hand.

James sat up with me and together we walked out. I spoke up when we were finally out of the doors of the center. "It's a little weird to actually be able to talk to her," I said.

"I like it. Now she can actually understand everything I want to say. I no longer have to use hand and head motions." James smiled and sat down.

Without even thinking about it, we had headed over to the same spot we were last night. We were now staring at the boats that floated on the water.

It hit me that Jay jay was with us yesterday. I felt a twisting pain in my chest. It seemed so strange, how quickly someone could be taken away. A few moments before it happened, none of us thought anything of death. It obviously couldn't happen to any of us, so it didn't matter. Then it did happen, and at such an unexpected time. I felt my eyes fill with water.

"You okay?" James asked.

"I just can't believe she is gone...is this what you felt when Lynda died?"

James frowned. "We all handle things differently... I can't say that I feel the same as you." A tear ran from his eye.

I reached up to his face, but James turned his head, wiping away the tear on his own. "You can talk about how you feel, if you want to...It might help..."

James turned to me, his face was serious again. "I don't need to talk about any thing. Can we just change the subject?"

"Is that why you are so bitter all the time? Because you don't want to show your emotions?" It was a little harsh, but I didn't want him to keep his feelings cooped up. It couldn't be good at all.

James's face twisted for a second. I thought he was surely going to attack me. Instead, he just sighed. "My emotions are not important. I must be strong for both Lyra and me."

"Lyra isn't here right now."

"I am. I think I would have a mental breakdown if I let all my emotions out at once."

"Sounds fair enough." My stare fell from James's face and drifted out back towards the water. The silence was back again.

"What happened between you and your pack?"

The question was sudden and unexpected. I looked up at James, shocked.

Finally, I spoke up. "My father was the lead arcanine in the pack. Everything was done for me and decided for me. I was frustrated. I wanted to be like the others, I wanted to be able to hunt and fight. But I didn't have a say in the matter.

"My father chose who I would be paired with. My views on that subject are...a little different than most. When I refused, my father was furious. I ended up running away. That was when Lyra found me..."

"Were you happy she found you?" James actually sounded curious. I thought he was simply just trying to change the subject, but it sounded like he was actually interested.

"I am. I wouldn't trade this experience for the world. I do admit that I miss my family sometimes, but I do enjoy this. I get to fight and travel. Plus I was able to meet some very good friends." I looked up at James and smiled.

"Just friends?" James reached up and placed his hand on my ear. He rubbed behind it, then ran his fingers down through my hair.

My gaze dropped. I felt my face get hot. "Friends...and...you..."

"I am in a different category?" James asked. He wrapped his arm around my back and pulled me closer to him.

I smiled as the words James had said to me yesterday popped into my head. "You're different."

"Just as long as my differences don't bug you." He smiled.

Crap. He responded better than I thought he would. My face was hot again. I hid my face in his shoulder. I didn't want him to notice.

James ran his hand up and down my back. "You better not try what you did last time," I muttered into his shoulder.

"I won't do anything unless you want me to. I learned my lesson last time." James brought his hand back up to my head and ran it through my hair again. "I don't like making you angry."

I raised my face off of James's shoulder and glared at him. "Really? Cause here I thought you enjoyed pissing me off!"

James's hand automatically rose to feel the scar across his cheek. The scar I had given him after Jay jay evolved... "I enjoy screwing with you, but I don't like it when you get so mad you yell. It scares me. It makes me think you hate me."

I smiled. He was telling me his feelings. I jumped forward and hugged him. James let out a small scream.

"What's that for?!"

"You're telling me your emotions! You're progressing!" I smiled as I buried my face into his chest.

"I didn't know you were keeping track of my progress." James chuckled.


	30. Chapter 29

"I don't want a repeat of the last gym battle, so I am going to evolve you before hand," Lyra said.

"Aren't I already a high enough level? How are you going to evolve me?" I asked.

"With this." Lyra held out her hand. In the center of her palm was a small red stone, with a flickering flame inside of it.

"What is it?" I asked, afraid to touch it.

"A fire stone," Aaron said from behind me. "It allows certain Fire types to evolve."

"And you think it will make me evolve?" I asked.

"I know it will," Lyra said.

"How...does it work?" I still wasn't touching the stone. I was just moving around Lyra to get a better view.

"All you have to do is pick it up." Lyra pushed her hand towards me.

I hesitated for a second. "What the hell!" I grabbed the stone from her hand. Almost instantly there was a searing pain that shot up my arm and flowed through the rest of my body. The white light surrounded me, and I could no longer see Lyra's worried face. I felt my bones in my body break, mend back together, then break again. I could feel my skin stretching. I could feel my organs moving around to fit my new body. The pain was almost unbearable, but I tried to hold it in. I tired to not scream. I knew Lyra would be able to hear now, and I didn't want to worry her.

I lost it when my skull started to reshape. It felt as if my head was splitting in two. I started to scream.

After what seemed like an eternity, the white light finally faded. I was still standing, but my hands were on my knees, and I was breathing heavily. The pain was fading, but it still lingered in my joints, coming back to sting me when I tried to move.

"Are you okay!?" Lyra sounded frantic. She gently placed a hand on my shoulder. The touch felt different. Smaller.

I stood up, my joints aching as I did. Then it made sense. Lyra was much shorter than me now. Hell, I was almost as tall as James now. "Yea, yeah. I'm good." I leaned back and heard my spine crack a few times. "How do I look?" I asked, holding out my arms.

"Older!" Togi yelled.

"Hey!" I turned around to her with a smile on my face.

"You look like every arcanine should, majestic," Lyra said, looking at me with wide eyes.

The Olivine City gym was actually small. There were two trainers inside of it. None of them wanted to battle. They all said Lyra didn't need to battle them, for she had shown her true strength when she went out to get the medicine. We quickly ran over to Jasmine, who was in the back of her gym, on a podium.

"Thanks again for your help at the lighthouse. But this is something completely different. Please allow me to introduce myself." Jasmine's face went from a smile to serious. "I am Jasmine, the gym leader! I use the Steel type! Do you know about Steel types? They are very hard, cold, and sharp! And they are super strong!" Jasmine's serious face faltered. "Um...I'm not lying...Go magnemite!"

"Go Kenji!" I stepped forward, feeling stronger than ever. "Use Flamethrower!" I took in a deep breath, then let out a strong stream of flames from my mouth. They surrounded the magnemite, making it impossible to see the burning pokemon. When the flames cleared, the magnemite was defeated.

"Magnemite, return. Go steelix!" The steelix was freakishly tall. It was rough, and silver. Its body seemed to be made entirely out of silver ore. It looked down at me with red eyes, and smiled.

"Go Ta'jean!" I happily ran back behind Lyra. Ta'jean stepped out onto the battlefield. "Ta'jean, Force Palm!" Ta'jean ran toward the steelix with an open palm, and hit it in the chest. The steelix staggered backwards.

"Steelix! Iron Tail!" The rocky tail that fell from the Steelix's back flashed for a second, as it momentarily got harder. Then the steelix flung its body around, trying to hit Ta'jean with it's tail. But Ta'jean jumped over it just in time.

"Ta'jean! Force Palm again!" Ta'jean put another palm to steelix's chest, sending it wobbling back.

"Steelix, use Sandstorm!" The steelix took a breath in, then let it out calmly. Pure sand flowed out of its mouth and began to pollute the air. Soon, visibility was down to zero.

"Ta'jean, use Reversal!" Sounds of the move hitting the steelix could be heard, but nothing could be seen.

"Steelix! Screech!" Suddenly, a high pitched sound echoed throughout the battlefield. I pressed my ears to my head, trying to make it go away. I could hear Ta'jean screaming as the noise punctured his ears.

"Ta'jean, Quick Attack!" The sandstorm was starting to get thinner. I could now see the outline of Ta'jean tackling the steelix. He wasn't able to bring it down because of its massive height.

"Steelix! Iron Tail again!" This time, the move hit. It sent Ta'jean flying backwards. He landed on his back, but quickly hopped to his feet.

"Ta'jean! Force Palm!" Ta'jean ran forward and planted his palm on the steelix's chest.

"Steelix, Iron Tail!" The steelix whipped around quickly and hit Ta'jean square in the chest with its tail. Ta'jean went flying backwards again. The sandstorm had now completely died down.

"This isn't moving much...Go Kenji!" Ta'jean limped back behind Lyra and I stepped forward on shaky feet. "Kenji! Fire Fang!" I had to jump, but I dug my teeth into the steelix's neck. Its skin was as hard as rock, and I almost thought my teeth broke on contact, but they didn't. I heard the steelix let out another high pitch screech, then it was defeated.

"Return steelix. Go magnemite!" Another magnemite was sent forward.

"Stay in Kenji. Use Flamethrower!" I let the flames escape my lips, and the magnemite was defeated just as easily as the last one.

"Wow..." Jasmine said. "You are a better trainer than me in both skill and kindness. Here is your badge." Jasmine handed Lyra a shiny, hexagon shaped badge. "Good luck on your adventure. I am sure that you will succeed."

"Thanks." Lyra nodded, then left.

* * *

**Thank you so much to Invisible Float! You have no idea how happy your review made me :') It is things like that, that inspire me to keep writing. And in response, I am just writing this because one day I woke up and felt like doing a pokemon story :) And yes, I always love reviews.**


	31. Chapter 30

As we left the gym, Ta'jean was surrounded by a white light. "What!? Right now?!" That was all he was able to get out before the pain started.

"Whoa, why right now?" Togi asked, taking a step back from Ta'jean.

"My guess is that it was the left over experience points from battling the steelix," Aaron said.

"That's strange. Why didn't it happen during the battle?" Lyra asked. She was holding hands with James as she watched Ta'jean evolve.

Aaron shrugged in response.

The light finally left Ta'jean. He looked so different now. He was taller, though not by much. His face was still blue, with the black stripe going across his red eyes. His hair was shaggier now, though. And he now had larger blue ears, that poked up straight out of his black hair. His torso was yellow, with a white spike that stuck out of the center. His arms were blue, but his hands were black with a white spike on the back of each one. Above his knees, his legs were blue, but below his knees, his legs were black. He still had the same blue tail. He seemed a little fluffier than before.

"Wow...I have never seen your breed before..." Lyra walked toward Ta'jean. She had to stand on the tips of her toes to pat him on the head. "Do you know what breed you are?"

"Lucario," Ta'jean said. He was turning his hands over looking at them.

Just then, Lyra's phone began to ring. The team watched as she picked it up. "Hello?...Oh hey professor!...Goldenrod? Well I am heading in that general direction, but it is a little out of the way...Bill's house?...Sure! I will make it over when I can...Okay...Bye!" She hung up.

"What was it about?" Togi asked.

"Elm wants us to stop by Bill's in Goldenrod. Apparently he has a gift for me."

"Who's Bill?"

"He runs the Wi-fi system. The same system I used to get Ta'jean. He is also a bit of a family friend." Lyra looked around at the team. "Well I guess it couldn't hurt to go to Goldenrod. It's not like we are on a time limit or anything."

It was mid-day when we made it back to Goldenrod. It took us a while of searching and asking to find Bill's house in the big city. Lyra knocked on the door of the small house. There was a man's voice on the other side of the door. "Come in," he said.

Lyra opened the door and stepped into the small house. Bill was sitting at his table with a pokeball in front of him. "Lyra! Welcome!" He got up and hugged Lyra. James clenched his fist for a brief second. This time, Lyra noticed. She gave him a worried look out of the corner of her eye. He almost instantly calmed down.

"Hey Bill! Long time no see! What'd you call me over for?" Lyra asked.

"This!" Bill picked the pokeball off of the table and handed it to Lyra. Lyra looked it over. "I got this in a Wi-fi trading session. I have tried to train it a little, but I am just too busy all the time. Can I trust you to take good care of it?"

"Uhhh...sure...What kind is it?" Lyra threw the pokeball into the air. It opened up, releasing what was inside.

"An eevee." Bill smiled.

"A what?!" Lyra turned toward the pokemon that emerged from the ball. It was small, so it was still a low level. It was covered in brown fur. It had lighter brown hair on its head, with long, dark brown ears that came out. It had a fluffy tail that came out of its lower back, which it wagged with interest. It looked up at Lyra with innocent eyes.

"Bill! You can't just give me an eevee!" Lyra yelled.

"Why not? I won't be able to take care of it. So the next best person I could think of would be you." Bill shrugged. "It would either be you, or Professor Elm's lab, where it would just be used for studding, and wouldn't be able to adventure at all."

James shuddered at this comment.

"Well...I guess this is better...Thanks Bill!" Lyra ran forward and gave Bill a big hug. He chucked.

"So does it have a name yet?" Lyra asked, looking down at the eevee. It was scanning the rest of the team. It looked from one of us to the next. It seemed a little frightened. I forgot, we weren't the cutest looking team. Most of us were evolved to our max, and looked very strong to a mere low level pokemon.

"Not yet. It didn't have a name when I got it. I guess it was just hatched from an egg," Bill said.

"Well then." Lyra walked over to the eevee. She patted it on the head. The eevee looked up at her, smiling. It seemed comfortable around Lyra, probably because she didn't look so threatening. "How bout I call you Ray?" She asked the eevee.

"Ray!" Ray said happily. "I have a name! Yay!" He laughed, jumping in the air.

Lyra chuckled. "I think he is going to be a great addition to our team."

* * *

**Major love to Rachel Balsdon, who left a wonderful comment that made me so happy I nearly cried :') And many thanks to MarsWolf! I love you for making it this far ^-^**


	32. Chapter 31

We had decided to stay the night at Goldenrod. Ta'jean and I were still trying to get use to our evolved forms, and everyone else was tired of battling the multitude of wild pokemon that came and attacked us on our way over.

The first thing I noticed when we entered our room was my reflection. I had never seen what I looked like evolved, and now I stood in front of a mirror, completely shocked. My whole body was orange and covered in black stripes. My hair was now very long, falling down to my waist. My blonde tail now fell low and almost dragged on the ground. My ears now came to a point, and stuck much further out of my hair. I was much taller, and looked a lot more fierce that I had as a Growlithe.

"Alright team!" Lyra broke me out of my trance. "We are gonna sleep tonight, then get through Mahogany Town and Blackthorn City tomorrow."

"Two gyms in one day? Will we have enough time?" Ta'jean asked, looking down at Lyra.

"The two towns are pretty close to each other, so distance isn't much of a worry. But if you guys get tired, we could always stop."

"I'm always up for a challenge," Ta'jean said, smiling.

"I am with you a hundred percent," I said.

"It'll give me a chance to get stronger!" Ray laughed and jumped up and down.

"It'll be fun!" Togi said.

Aaron nodded and smiled.

"And I'll always stick by your side," James put a scaly hand on Lyra's shoulder.

Lyra smiled. She held out her hands and signaled for us to go closer to her. When we did, she wrapped her arms around us in a tight group hug. She was only able to actually get her arms around James, Togi and Aaron. Ray, Ta'jean and I completed the hug by putting our arms up and around everyone else.

"I love all of you…" Lyra said quietly, after some time had passed. "I don't think I ever told you before. And…if something happens to any one else on this team…I just want you all to know I love you." Lyra raised her head up and there were tears in her eyes.

Ray's quiet voice peeped up from the center. "Even me?" he asked.

Lyra let out a sad laugh and ruffled Ray's hair. "Of course," she said. Lyra looked at the rest of us.

Togi raised a hand and put it on Lyra's shoulder. "We love you too! And don't you ever forget that! Okay?"

Lyra put her hand on top of Togi's and smiled. "Okay."

I actually was able to sleep through most of the night, and woke up when the sun was just starting to rise. Lyra had rented a room with a big enough be for everyone to be curled up around her.

I wiggled my way out of the bed, being careful not to wake any of the team, and casually walked out of the center.

James was up by the city limits, doing his usual routine of staring out at the ocean. The sun was just barely peaking over the water, pouring its light through the buildings of the city, giving it a gold color. Goldenrod, huh, I get it now.

James was sitting in the grass, facing away from me. I walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me and a small smile passed over his face. "I was wondering when you were going to come?"

I sat down next to him. "It has been a long day, and I am still getting use to this body."

"I am still getting use to your new body too," James threw an arm around my shoulder.

"What's that suppose to mean?" I asked, elbowing him playfully in the side.

"You're almost taller than me!" James held a hand over my head. "I might get intimidated!" He snickered.

"Can't even say it with a straight face…" I muttered under my breath. "I can be intimidating if I wanna be!"

"Really?" James asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Yeah!" I lept forward and pinned James down to the ground. I held his wrists in one hand, forcing them up and over his head. I could feel the muscles in his wrists under his scales. If he actually fought back, there was no way I would be able to hold him down.

"See?" I said, flipping my hair over my shoulder with my empty hand. "I totally have the upper hand, and could attack you." I brought my face down close to James's. "I could even give you another scar." I poked the faded scar on his cheek.

James smiled at the empty threat. He brought his head up and nipped at the end of my nose. I nearly jumped at the act. It didn't hurt. No, actually, it was quite the opposite. It made my whole body hot.

I straightened up my body and was looking down at James. He was smiling a toothy grin. "You're blushing Kenji. That doesn't make you very intimidating."

I snapped my hands up to my ears and covered them. Damn blushing ears! "Y-you just surprised me, that's all!" I went to get off James, but he put his hands on my hips, holding me in place.

"I don't think that's it at all," James said. He moved one hand off my hip and on to my shoulder, over the spot that still hadn't re-grown fur. His hand glided down my arm and stopped at my hand. He brought his hand up and laced his fingers into mine. My body felt hot, but it shook as if it was cold. "I think…it's more."

I bit my lower lip and let my gaze drift away. I liked it when James and I were this close. It felt good and it wasn't something we could actually do around the team. But I couldn't help but get embarrassed. When we are like this, my mind begins to drift. I would start to think obscene things, and I would feel bad for it.

James put his hand on the back of my head, slowly bringing our bodies closer together. "Kenji…can I…"

I was scared, nervous, but I nodded my head anyway. James brought himself up to meet with me half way, and gently placed his lips over mine. My mind completely shut down, not letting any thoughts get out. I felt my face flush as James's lips moved over mine. It…it felt amazing. Much better than it had with Ta'jean.

James placed his hands on my shoulders, holding himself up. I wrapped my arms around his back, closing the space between our bodies.

James rolled over, our lips never parting as we moved. The kiss was becoming more lustful and passionate. Our tongues now danced inside of the other's mouth.

It felt as if the air was being sucked from my lungs. I pushed up on James's chest and gasped for air when our lips finally parted. James was panting slightly.

I turned my head to the side. My body was so hot. I didn't know what to do. I looked at James out of the corner of my eye. He smiled when he saw me looking. He lowered his head and put it on my shoulder. "You have no idea…how long I have wanted to do that…" he whispered.

I felt my face grow hot. I wrapped my hands around his back. "Same here…" I whispered into his ear.

* * *

**I apologize, but the updates are going to start slowing down after this. See these past thirty chapters were written by me about a year ago, then I took a break from this story. Now that I actually have to write the next chapters, it is going to take me a lot longer. I am afraid I won't be able to update every day or every other day like I was able to before. I will try to update at least once a week though. **

**Don't be mad :O Have a kissing scene between James and Kenji 3**


	33. Chapter 32

James and I lay together in the grass, watching the remanded of the sunrise with each other, holding hands and not saying much to the other.

When we finally walked back to the center, the rest of the team was still asleep. Lyra was in the middle of the bed, passed out with major bed head. Togi was on her side, facing the edge of the bed, which Aaron was floating off of. The two were loosely holding hands. Ta'jean was fast asleep, facing Lyra, with Ray curled up in the small of his back.

James sat down with his back leaning against the foot of the bed. "Come here," he said quietly, patting his knee with his hand.

I looked at the rest of the team warily. They would probably be waking up soon, and for some reason I would feel uncomfortable if they knew James and I had kissed. I shuffled over to James and he grabbed me and pulled me into his lap. "James!" I tried to keep my voice down so I wouldn't wake the team, but it still came out a bit loud. I froze, waiting to hear the sounds of someone moving around, but there were none. Everyone must have been pretty exhausted.

"Not here," I whispered as I tried to raise my body out of his lap.

"Why not?" James asked, keeping a decent grip on my body. Damn him and his strength. "I know you long to be embraced like this," he said, resting his chin on my shoulder. "And I would like to hold you a little longer."

I pulled James's face off of my shoulder and looked at him in the eyes. "Dude, I don't want the team to wake up and find us like this."

"What's so wrong with the rest of the team seeing us? We are together? Are we not?" James asked, tilting his head in a way that almost made him look innocent.

Together. The word echoed inside of my head. Were we technically together now? I did want to be with him. But would the team really be that accepting of the choice for us to be 'together'? My pack wasn't fond of my choices, that was why I left in the first place. So would it be okay for the other teammates to be aware of us?

A million more questions flew threw my head. James looked at me with confusion, and maybe a little sadness mixed in too. It broke my heart to see his face looking like that. I was use to anger, and an occasional smile. I had seen sadness once or twice, but this look was completely different. It almost made me feel bad for him. It made me want to scream out that, yes, we were together, and that I wasn't going to let anyone split us up. But for some reason, I kept my mouth shut, unable to figure out the correct words to say.

"What're you guys doin'?" A small voice peeped up.

I jumped from the shock and fell out of James's lap. My eyes drifted up to the edge of the bed. Ray was leaning over it, looking down at me and James. His ears and hair dangled down past his face.

"Nothing! Nothing!" I spoke quickly before James was able to get out anything embarrassing.

"Why're you whisperin'?" Ray asked, keeping his voice down simply because I was too. I didn't even notice I still was.

"No reason," I said at a normal volume. I sat up and scratched the back of my head. "Is the rest of the team awake?"

Ray looked back over his shoulder. "No, but I can get them up." Ray turned around. "Hey guys! Ready to start movin'?!" He nearly shouted.

I heard a muttered reply from Ta'jean, and then Ray went flying off the bed. "Ow!" Ray rubbed his stomach. "He kicked me!"

I chuckled and shook my head. "Ta'jean was never a morning person," I said. My eyes drifted over to James, who was still sitting up against the bed. His head was hanging and his hair was in his face, hiding his facial expression from me. Was he upset from my silence? He should know I didn't hate him, and that I actually was very fond of him. After all, I did kiss him back. And we had spent all that time together over the past few days. I just hoped I didn't hurt him.

We traveled down Route 42, which was pretty uneventful, at least, at first it was. There weren't many trainers on this path and we had to take the long way through the mountain that paralled the Route. There was a shorter way, but Lyra had to bring us into our pokeballs and ride on James's back, like she had on our way towards Cianwood City. She said it would give us a chance to get stronger anyway.

I felt alone during this time of travel though. Togi was chatting with Aaron, who seemed to be acting a little strange. He seemed as if he wanted to be left alone, but yet be with who he cared about as much as he could. I wondered if something was going to happen soon, and he couldn't talk about it.

Ray was hanging all over Ta'jean. I believed Ray felt some sort of connection to Ta'jean, since they were both obtained though the wi-fi system. Ta'jean seemed a little bothered by it, but he also didn't say anything about it.

James was walking with Lrya, like always. But there seemed to be a different aura around him than usual. He wasn't in his 'always protective' mood like he usually was when he traveled with the team. I could see it in his fighting too. When he battled, he seemed less enthusiastic about it. I felt that I needed to talk to him, but once again, my fear of being judged by the team stepped in, and I was forced to keep back and keep my mouth shut.

When we exited the cave on Route 42, a loud, familiar roar echoed out. Lyra snapped her head over to the cause of the sound, and saw Suicune standing out on the water, wind whipping around her body, blowing through her fur and hair. She smiled and waved to Lyra. Lyra was a little hesitant at first, but then raised her hand and waved back.

Suicune opened her mouth to say something, but quickly snapped it shut when her ears pricked up. "Not this man again…" She muttered, bringing a hand to her face. She brought her mask down over her face and said, "We will get a chance to talk again, child." She then turned around and lept across the water, quickly fleeing from whatever sound it was that she had heard.

Just then, Eusine ran up. He seemed to be in a trance as he watched Suicune run off into the distance. "Suicune…how brave it is! How refreshing it is! How beautiful it is!" He tilted his head slightly. Suicune was now gone, completely out of sight. "And how quickly it moves…almost as if it was trying to get away from something…hmmm…"

Eusine looked over and saw Lyra. This seemed to snap him out of his trance. "Lyra! It's good to see you again!" Eusine took Lyra's hand in his as a big smile flashed across his face. "It's been so long!"

Lyra seemed a little uncomfortable with the touch. Instead of James being his normal guardian self, he just stared off into the distance. Even Lyra seemed to notice this, and was a little worried about it. "You might want to be careful with the touching. I have a feraligatr who isn't very fond of people laying their hands on me." Lyra pointed a finger over her shoulder towards James, whose head snapped up when he heard his breed.

Eusine immediately let Lyra's hand drop, and laughed shakily. "Well, time to get to the point then. You seem to be around where ever Suicune would appear. And, well, I'm okay with that. My desire to search for Suicune is far beyond yours…" Eusine scratched behind his neck. "You see, my grandpa was…quite into myths. I've heard so many stories about Suicune from him. Suicune…" Eusine seemed to daze off again.

"Uh…" Lyra waved a hand infront of Eusine's face.

"I won't stop following you until I've found out what you're after!" Eusine suddenly shouted out. "You hear me!" He then took off running.

Lyra looked at us, a little confused at what just happened. "Alrighty then," she said. She flung an arm around James's waist and pulled him close. "Lets talk as we walk, okay?"

James looked down at her and nodded. "Yeah, sure…"

**Phew! Got it out before a week passed! I think...I kinda lost track of time. Ohhhhh wellllll :) Hope you guys enjoyed! Reviews are always lovely ;)**


	34. Chapter 33

It wasn't long before we reached the next town. It was not far away from the spot where we saw Suicune. Lyra and James talked quietly on the way over. I watched James closely, wondering that if maybe I heard what they were talking about, I could help fix it. But, I was not able to hear anything. I saw the occasional gesticulation, but that gave me no hint to what was being said.

As soon as we reached the Mahogany Town limits, a man came rushing past the team at a rate considerably fast for his age. His face was panic stricken and it seemed as if he was running away from something.

"Excuse me sir?" Lyra asked quickly, so to catch the old man before he was out of hearing range. "What are you running from?"

The man stopped not to far from me and turned around to face Lyra. "You mean you haven't heard?" A look of disbelief was on his face.

"Heard about what?" Lyra asked, completely oblivious to whatever frightening occurrence was happening to this man.

The old man shook his head. "There is a red gyarados rampaging at the Lake of Range. I am afraid that at this rate, it will flood the town! So I am leaving. Now, if you excuse me." The man turned and walked away. After a few steps, he broke back out into a sprint.

"Well," Lyra turned to us, "What do you say guys? Want to stop by the center, than stop this gyarados?"

We all nodded. "He said it was red too! Aren't gyarados usually blue?" Togi asked, a curious smile spread across her face.

"Well lets go find out!" Lyra smiled. She waved over her shoulder and started to run towards the center. James kept up at a steady pace next to her while Togi and Aaron followed close behind, neither of their feet touching the ground. Ta'jean and Ray raced each other over. And I was in the back, watching it all. I felt slightly displaced. What was making me feel so awkward around the team now?

Mahogany Town was a small piece of land tucked into a clearing of a forest. There were very few houses, a center, a gym, and a small shop. Rain was falling from the clouds that surrounded the town in sheets. We had only been in the rain for a minute or two, but by the time we reached the center, we were drenched to the bone. I didn't enjoy it at all, although, it did seem to make James a little better.

It ended up that the rampaging gyarados was the one who was causing all the rain. Usually the town didn't get that much, so the ground wasn't use to having absorb the rain. Since the rampage has been going on for a few days, the two was already starting to flood.

I didn't want to leave the center, but we had to go up route 34 to reach the red gyarados. It was pouring up this whole route as well, and the rain only fell harder the closer we got to the lake. There were very few pokemon along the path over, probably because of the strange weather conditions. The few that were out, though, were very irritable and aggressive, proving to be a bit of a challenge for us. But we were, like always, able to take them down. Ray was even able to level up a bit in the process.

The lake its self was a disaster. I could barely see past my nose because of the falling rain.

"This way you guys! Don't get lost!" Lyra called out to us, leading us through with her voice.

When we came to the edge of the lake, there was a large gyarados in the center of it. It was very tall and sure enough, most of its body was a bright, shiny red. Its stomach was pale and it had pale circles running down its sides, just like any other gyarados. A huge tail with a fin on the end thrashed out from its lower back and smacked the water. White fins came out of its upper arms and one came out of the center of its back. Its hair was red with white tips.

The gyarados saw Lyra and let out a roar. It came charging to the side of the lake. "What?" Lyra was taken aback, afraid, and didn't know what to do next. James lept out in front of her just as the gyarados came out on to the grass where we were standing. It seemed even more massive out of the water.

James caught the gyarados's massive hands in his own. The two growled at each other, glaring. James seemed to be coming back to his normal self. Maybe talking to Lyra really did help him.

Lyra seemed to snap awake. "James! Slash!" James dropped the gyarados's hands and took a quick step back. He lashed out at the gyarados with his claws, slicing its torso open. Blood leaked down the gyarados's pale scales, dying it the same color as the rest of its body.

The gyarados looked down and growled deeply. It raised one hand to the sky, then brought it down in a quick motion. A twister formed from the clouds and hit James directly. James was caught in it for a second, then throw out with great force. He landed in the water behind the gyarados.

"James, use Crunch!" James flung himself from the water and planted his teeth deep into the gyarados's arm. The gyarados looked at James and almost scoffed. It flung its arm and James went flying once again. He got up and shook himself. Scratches now covered his body.

"Slash once more! That should finish it off!" James rushed forward and jumped. He brought his claws down with great force over the gyarados's face. The gyarados let out a scream and staggered backwards. It raised its hands up to its face slowly, feeling the blood that ran through its fingers. Then it fell backwards into the water, disappearing into its depths.

A large wave came up after it fell. In the wave was a single red scale. James picked up the scale and looked it over then he walked over to Lyra. "You might want to keep this. Not many people will believe you fought a red gyarados." He tucked the scale into Lyra's hand.

"Are you okay?" Lyra asked, looking over the scratches that littered James's body. They were nothing compared to the gashed that he gave the gyarados, but they still seemed a little bad.

"I should be fine," James said looking over his body.

Suddenly, the sky began to clear. The rain stopped falling and the grey clouds seemed to dissipate from the sky.

"What do you know?" I muttered to myself, looking up at the sky, than looking at the surrounding area. "It is actually pretty here, now that I can see what I am looking at."


	35. Chapter 34

Not to far from where we were was a man standing with a dragonite next to him. The man was tall, with spiky red hair and a confident face. He was wearing a black cloak that wrapped around his body and a blue shirt and pants.

The dragonite that was next to him was nearly double the man's size. It was mostly orange, save for its pale belly and its blueish-green under wings. It had a horn coming out of its long yellow hair. It was keeping its feet of the ground with an occasional flap of its wings.

The man approached Lyra and spoke up. "I thought you should know that the red gyarados wasn't acting right. It seemed that what I feared was correct. Somebody forced it to evolve." He looked past Lyra, out to the lake. A trail of blood led out to the middle of the lake, where the gyarados was probably tending to its wounds. "That was an interesting battle. What is your name?"

"Lyra." She held out her hand to the man.

"Lance," the man said, completing the motion.

I was next to the dragonite, looking up at it. "What?" The dragonite asked. Its voice was that of a female's.

"Nothing. Just wondering how you keep your self up when your wings are so small," I said.

"You callin' me fat?!" the dragonite asked. Its feet landed on the ground and it put its hands on its hips.

"No, that's not-"

"Well sorry that I can't be as thin as that little stick over there!" She pointed a finger over to Togi, who looked over, slightly confused.

"Archer!" Lance called out. The dragonite's head snapped up, then its eyes drifted down in shame. "Stop getting in fights because you are self conscious about your weight!"

"Wait!" Lyra was shocked. "You mean you can see and understand your pokemon too!?"

A wide smile crossed Lance's face. "Ah. I knew there was something different about you. Yeah, I have always been able to ever since I was visited by Suicune when I was just a boy."

"That's amazing!" Lyra grabbed Lance's hand in her own. "I thought I was the only one!"

"Well, you have this ability for a reason, Lyra. You are a trainer with considerable skill. So, if I can ask of you, would you like to help me with my investigation?"

"I would love to!" Lyra smiled.

Ta'jean walked over to me and nudged me in the side with the elbow. "You are great with the ladies, huh?" He asked, smiling.

"Shut up," I said, glaring at him.

"Excellent!" Lance put his hand over Lyra's. "It would seem that the magikarp in the Lake of Rage are being force to evolve. There is a strange broadcast coming from somewhere in Mahogany Town that I believe is the cause. I'll be waiting for you over there, Lyra." Lance let go of Lyra's hand. "Archer! Let's go!"

The dragonite threw one more glare in my direction before flapping her wings again and going over to Lance, who climbed on to her back, wrapping his arms around her neck. Archer flapped her wings, bringing her higher and higher into the air before she shot off fast in the direction towards the town.

**Sorry guys! This is a really short chapter! And it took me so long to get it up to! Work and school and band has been killing me :O But I will try to get these chapters up as soon as I can! Don't hate me!**


	36. Chapter 35

We battled our way through wild pokemon on our way back down route 43. Aaron stayed next to me as we traveled down, occasionally speaking to me in between battles.

"You know, Kenji, you shouldn't be afraid to tell people how you feel," Aaron told me towards the end of the route.

I smiled sadly and shook my head. "It isn't that easy."

Aaron put a hand on my shoulder. "It is a dangerous world out here." Aaron held his other hand out in front of him. It seemed like he was pointing to James, but he couldn't have been. "Lives don't last long. Don't let small worries get in your way."

Of course Aaron was right, but it was just a little difficult to work past my fears. But I needed to suck it up and talk to James.

Before I could talk to him, we walked through the gates to Mahogany Town. Lance was waiting inside the gate for us. Archer stood by his side, looking just grumpy as she had when she left.

When we reached Lance, he spoke up. "I believe this souvenir shop is where the strange transmission is coming from." Lance pointed over to a small shack not to far away from the local gym. There was a tree next to it with wires obviously poking out from it.

Lyra tilted her head a little. "Why did I never pick that up before? There is obviously something weird going on there."

When we reached the front of the shop, there was a huge sign next to it that stated, 'Just a Souvenir Shop!' In smaller letters under that, 'Nothing Suspicious about it! No need to be alarmed!'

"Wow…" Ray scratched his head behind his ear. "Could they be any more obvious about it?"

Togi shook her head. "Talk about idiots."

"Come on, lets go in," Lance said. He barged in through the door, closely followed by Archer. Lyra ran in after him.

Two men stood inside, frightened by the sudden intrusion. Both looked like normal civilians. One stood up to Lance. "Don't take another step!"

Lance let out a cocky smile. "Archer, Hyperbeam!"

I gasped. That was unheard of! Were pokemon even allowed to use moves against humans? But sure enough, Archer sucked in a deep breath and let out a strong beam of light that struck the first man in the chest. He went flying and slammed against the wall behind him. He sunk down to his knees, completely unconscious.

Lance walked over to the second man, who's eyes grew wide. He quickly ran away.

"Are you…suppose to do that with pokemon?" I asked Lyra. "It seems like an abuse of power!"

Lyra shrugged. "It seems like he is doing it for a good purpose. So maybe it is okay."

Lance looked over at me and smiled. "I can do whatever I want to," he stated in a voice that almost sounded like a bratty child's. Just then, he pulled up on a floor board, revealing a staircase leading down into the ground.

Lance stood at the top of the staircase with his hands on his hips. Archer stood loyally behind him. "We should split up here, Lyra. That way we can cover more ground in this place. I'll go first since I am stronger." Lance rushed down the stairs without even waiting for a response from Lyra.

"You know…" Togi started, "At first I thought he was pretty cool. Now he just seems like a dick."

"You could say that again," Ta'jean said, shaking his head.

"Well team, ready to go stop whoever is doing this?" Lyra turned to all of us. She was standing at the top of the staircase with a wide smile on her face.

James put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Of course," he said in a voice that seemed a little too soft. He still wasn't feeling better.

Aaron nodded silently.

Ray jumped excitedly. "Yeah yeah!"

"Lets put an end to these people," Togi said.

Ta'jean brought up his fists. "I'm ready to take them down."

"I'm always ready!" I said.

"All right!" Lyra rushed down the stairs, with James closely behind her, followed by the rest of the team.

I was nearly shocked when we descended. I was expecting some crudely made underground bunker. But instead, there was a huge maze-like floor that was almost big enough to be a building itself. The walls and floors were made with a strong metal substance, and there was enough light to make it seem like we weren't even underground.

Standing not too far from where we were was a statue of a persian. Its eyes glowed a deep red. Lyra walked up to the statue. "What does this do?" She asked looking it over.

Aaron reached out his hand, as if to stop her, but then withdrew it and shook his head.

Lyra suddenly froze. "I feel…as if I am being watched…" she told the rest of the team. We all looked around but no one was in sight.

Suddenly, the persian's eyes began to flash and there was a deep electronic noise coming from it. A Team Rocket grunt came running forward. He gasped. "An intruder!"

Lyra looked angry. "So you guys are the one's behind this!"

The grunt smiled and threw forward a pokeball. "Go drowzee! Stop these fools!"

The drowzee was a heavy-set, medium height pokemon. It had a long snout that hung down where its nose should have been. Sharp ears poked up out of its bald head. Its lower half was brown while its upper half was yellow.

Lyra pointed a finger forward. "Go Ray!"

Ray rushed forward and stood in a fighting stance. "Ray! Shadow Ball!" Ray cupped his hands together. A dark wind began to blow around him, rippling through his fur and pushing his hair out of his face. He slowing opened his hands, revealing a growing dark ball. He then thrust his hands forward and the ball shot out with incredible speed, striking the drowzee in the chest. The drowzee staggered back, but was able to catch itself.

"Drowzee, Confusion!" The drowzee put its hands to its temples. Ray was suddenly still. A thin stream of blood began to drip from his nose. Ray lifted his hand and wiped his nose with the back of it. He saw the red staining his brown fur. Ray let out a growl.

"Ray use Tackle!" Ray ran forward and brought down all of his body weight onto the drowzee. That move finally made the drowzee faint.

The grunt shook his head in disappointment. "Damn weak pokemon. I told them I needed stronger ones…Drowzee, return!" The grunt held out a pokeball and withdrew the drowzee from the battleground.

The grunt then sent out a zubat, which was easily defeated by Togi and her strong Psychic moves. The grunt scoffed. "I can't believe I failed!" The grunt ran off. "I'll be sure to warn our boss that you are here!" He shouted as he left.

"Well…"Lyra started, looking at the rest of the team, "Guess it would be a good idea to stay away from those now." She let out a sheepish smile.

"That would probably be the best," Aaron said.

Unfortunately, it was a lot harder to avoid the statues than we originally thought. We had no idea where we were going in this strange underground maze, and there were multiple persian statues lining the walls. Each one called for a Team Rocket grunt or two, not to mention the occasional ones we ran into who were patrolling about.

"Geeze!" Lyra leaned up against a wall after finishing another battle in which James mercilessly took down a rattata and a zubat. "I wonder how Lance got through all of this! And if he did, wouldn't all these grunts be worn down and not able to battle?!"

"Well, he did say he could do whatever he wanted to," Ta'jean recalled, shaking his head and looking at the ground.

"Yeah! Maybe he just ran through," Ray said, happy to put in his opinion.

Ta'jean looked down at Ray and smiled, ruffling his hair. "Maybe," he said. Ray smiled, happy to get recognition from Ta'jean.

"Well we are taking a break for a little! This is almost too much!" Lyra slid down the wall and landed on her butt. "This has been one heck of a day, and it is barely even half over!"

James kneeled down next to Lyra and put his hand on her shoulder. "We could always leave if you want to."

Lyra put her hand on top of James's and smiled. "No way. We are going to stop these guys!"

Lyra paused for a second, then signaled with her finger for James to come closer. He leaned in and put his head next to hers. She whispered something into his ear and I saw both of their eyes drift towards me. James drew his head back from Lyra's in shock. He leaned in and whispered something back into her ear. Lyra stood up, smacked James lightly over the head, then put her hands on her hips. "You are too stubborn for your own good!"

"Wow." Togi was shocked. "Never knew she had it in her to hit James, even if it wasn't that hard."

Aaron shrugged. "Well if he deserved it…"

Lyra started to walk over to me. Just then, there was a red flashing. Sure enough, against the wall adjacent to us, a persian statue stood. It started letting out its low electric buzz and a Team Rocket grunt came running in Lyra's direction. "An intru-" He started saying before he was cut off by Lyra.

"Oh HELL no!" Lyra held out her hand, stopping the shocked grunt right before he reached her. "Do you even know…how many of you I have fought in the past ten minutes?"

The baffled grunt scratched his head. "…a lot?"

"Yes! A lot! And it might be a little better if you all didn't use the same pokemon! I mean really? A rattata and zubat? The only possible challenge was the drowzee and Ray is now strong enough to take that down in one move!" Lyra pointed over her shoulder to Ray, who happily smiled and waved at the grunt. "You guys are like flies that won't go away! I suggest you get out of here before I make one of my pokemon attack you!"

The grunt slowly inched away from Lyra, then took of running when he was a good enough distance away. Lyra let out a deep breath, then smiled like nothing happened. "There are some stairs over there guys. Lets continue on."

**Phew finally got out a decent sized update :) Here you guys go. Hope you all enjoy. Don't forget to leave reviews ^_^ **

**Oh and thanks to bdjpl97 for leaving some awesome feedback :D**


	37. Chapter 36

The team battled the way through the rest of the base, enduring all the grunts that liked to randomly appear and challenge us. At the very last room in the base, we found an insane man playing dress up, acting like he was the old Team Rocket boss, Giovanni.

Lyra looked the man over once. "You…think you're Giovanni?"

The man let out a laugh. He was in a black suit with a fedora on his head. He had a black wig on, and his original purple hair jutted out from beneath it, making his costume seem even more ridiculous. "I don't think I am, little girl. I _am_ Giovanni!"

"They just keep getting crazier, don't they," Togi said, leaning over to whisper into Ray's ear.

"Kinda feel bad for him. What if he is just delusional?" Ray asked.

"I think he's just nuts!" Ta'jean said in a loud voice. Lyra heard the conversation and began to laugh.

"W-whats so funny? How dare you laugh at Team Rocket's feared leader!" The man was starting to get embarrassed, his cheeks growing red.

"If you're Giovanni, then I am the Elite Four champion!" Lyra said in between giggles.

The man snarled. "Fine! You caught me!" The man ripped off his costume, revealing a Team Rocket executive uniform. "I am Executive Petrel! Master of disguise!"

Lyra started laughing again at the last phrase.

Petrel looked more than just a little bothered at this. "That is it! Go zubat! Teach this punk a lesson!"

"Ohhhh no, a zubat!" Lyra waved her hands in her face, acting afraid. "Take it down with an Extrasensory, Togi."

Togi did not even move forward, she used the move from behind the side lines. Instantly the zubat fell to the floor, completely knocked out.

Petrel looked stunned. "I…you…AGH! Zubat! Return! Show them how its done, koffing!"

Lyra shook her head. "Go take him down with a Fire Fang, Kenji."

I rushed forward and dug my teeth into the koffing, feeling a red hot sensation pass out of my mouth. The koffing was done.

"Koffing you useless piece of shit! Return! Go raticate! Don't disappoint me!" Petrel was yelling now.

"You got this one James. Use an Ice Fang," Lyra said as calmly as ever.

James stepped forward. He seemed a little better than he has recently been. Maybe the slap Lyra gave him to the head actually did something after all. But it didn't fix him completely. His battling style was still a little sluggish and not filled with as much spirit as it use to be.

"I…How dare you!" Petrel spat. He started backing up slowly. "This isn't the last you will hear of me!" Petrel quickly turned around and slammed face first into a wall. He growled and punched the wall furiously before running out the door.

"That one is as 'special' as they come," Aaron said, shaking his head.

"You can say that again." I covered my mouth, trying to stop myself from chuckling.

"Come on guys, lets figure out how to shut down this base now." Lyra had a wide smile on her face.

It was good to see the team so happy. Even James had a small lift on the side of his lips. Things seemed to be looking up.

**Guess who's back! :D Hey all of you! Sorry it has been so long :O I have been swamped with work and life stuff. But vacation has started for me. Which means: Yay more story writin' time!**

**If you can't tell, I never did like Petrel...**

**In reply to Super Sonic Ultra, things will come in due time. I have a lot planned out for this story. Trust me *does a pervy smile back **


	38. Chapter 37

We quickly ran back through the base, looking behind every door, searching for some sort of power source. We had nearly made it back to the entrance when we found one door, shut tight and locked.

"This has got to be it." Lyra pressed her ear to the door, listening. "Yes! I am sure of it! I hear this electrical-like buzzing! Come on guys, lets break this door down!"

Suddenly, there was a strong female laugh coming from behind us. "Please, a scrawny child like yourself can't even dream of breaking that down."

I turned around quickly to see a grunt walking next to a very tall and very beautiful woman. She was in a white dress with black accents and a leg slit that went almost a little too high. A red 'R' was sewn onto the black breast pocket of the dress. She wore knee high white boot heals and her hair, which fell down her back, was a deep shade of red.

"Who are you?" Lyra took a defensive stance.

The woman laughed again. The sound was beautiful and frightening all at the same time. "Ariana. The only female Team Rocket executive. I am here to stop you from meddling any further."

"You can't stop me by yourself!" Lyra had a strong tone of defiance in her voice, like a bratty teenager back talking their mother.

Ariana smirked. "That may be so, but that is why I brought him with me." She waved her hand over to the grunt that stood next to her. "There is no way you can take down both of us together. Prepare to be defeated." Ariana slipped a poke ball out from who-knows-where and prepared to throw it. The grunt grabbed a ball from his belt.

"Now hold on!"

I knew that voice. As did the rest of the team.

Lance came running up to Lyra's side. "A two-on-one battle. Doesn't that seem a little unfair? So typical of Team Rocket. Allow me to join this battle!" Lance stood pridefully next to Lyra. Archer was behind him, letting out a battle cry.

"What?! You had an accomplice hiding in the shadows this whole time? How low. At least you were aware of mine! No matter! I will still show you why you shouldn't mess with Team Rocket!" Ariana thew her poke ball forward, releasing an arbok. The grunt threw his ball forward, letting out a drowzee.

The arbok was a frighting sight. It was tall, purple, covered in scales, and had a long tail snaking out from behind it. Its hair was black, with red tips, and fell low enough to just barely cover its eyes. It had a pattern on its chest and it looked surprisingly like a face with red eyes and a wide smiling mouth. I shuddered.

"Go take them down Ray!" Lyra pointed her finger forward and Ray ran in front of her.

"Show them how its done, Archer!" Lance smiled as Archer stepped forward.

Before any of us could think about moving, Archer let out a cry and lighting struck the arbok. All of us, even Ariana, looked stunned as the fainted arbok hit the floor.

"You didn't even tell it what to do! How does that work?!" Lyra asked frantically, mouth agape with surprise.

Lance looked at her and a cocky smile passed over his face. "Please. Archer and I know each other so well, its like we have this telepathic connection going on. I don't always have to tell her what move to use. She knows. Now you might want to tell your little eevee over there what to use before it gets confused."

"Ah! Yes! Ray, use Shadow Ball on the drowzee!"

Ray pressed his hands together and shadows began to collect in between them, forming a ball. The ball began to grow. Ray thrust his hands forward, propelling the ball towards the drowzee. It struck and the drowzee stumbled, but it caught itself, bringing itself back up to its feet.

Ariana threw another poke ball forward. "Go murkrow!"

The murkrow was a short little pokemon. It was covered in black feathers and its hair was a crazy mess, pointing in every other direction. Its hands and feet were the only things not covered in feathers. They were yellow and scaly, resembling talons. Its fingers and toes ended at a sharp point. A pair of wings sprouted for its shoulder blades, stretched out and ready for flight, while a small bushy tail poked out from its lower back. The murkrow's eyes were red, and it stared down Ray with them.

Ray shook a little and gulped. "It's okay Ray, don't focus on it! Use a Shadow Ball again on the drowzee!" Lyra said, trying to keep Ray steady and unafraid.

Ray conjured up another Shadow Ball while Archer flew up into the air.

The Shadow Ball hit the drowzee just as Archer flew down with incredible speed onto the murkrow. Both were knocked out.

"Okay Ray, that's good for now. Go on out Kenji!" I stepped forward just as Ariana sent out a gloom and the grunt sent out a grimer. "Kenji, use Flamethrower!"

I sucked in a deep breath as Archer launched herself into the sky again. I let a stream of fire out onto the gloom while Archer pummeled the grimer. Once again, both were knocked out.

Ariana and the grunt looked stunned as they brought their pokemon back into their balls. "How…could you possibly defeat me…?" Ariana shook her head. "I don't get it…"

Ariana and the grunt started to walk away, but Ariana stopped in her tracks for a second. "You guys are strong. Really strong. How about you two join Team Rocket! You would get paid handsomely and all that strength will be used for something!" She had a huge smile on her face as she reached a hand out in our direction.

"No. I would never do that." Lyra shook her head.

"HA! Fat chance!" Lance laughed and stuck up his middle finger.

Ariana's smile twisted into a scowl. "Fine! But don't expect any of us to go lightly on you next time! You will face the true wrath of Team Rocket soon enough!" She then turned on her heal and stormed off.


	39. Chapter 38

"You!" Lyra pointed a finger at Lance. "Where were you this whole time?! I thought you were going to help me take down the base! I had to do it all by myself!"

"Oh come on now, I was doing some work too." Lance stood on the tips of his toes and tried to reach for something towards the top of the closed door. He stretched his arm up and then let it drop with a sigh of defeat. "Hey Archer, want to give me a lift?"

Archer came over to Lance and he climbed on her back. With a few flaps of her tiny wings, she brought Lance up so he was at eye level with the top of the door. He reached out and pressed a screw. The screw turned red and beeped once. The metal door flew open. Lance patted Archer's back and she brought him down to the ground.

"See." Lance held a hand behind him, revealing the generator room. There was a massive machine, the side we were facing was covered in buttons. The top had six tesla coils pointing in different directions. Branching off of the side of the generator were six glass tubes, three on either side, each crackling with electricity inside of them.

"While you were busy running around getting nothing done, I was snooping, figuring out the important things. Like were the generator was and where Team Rocket will be hitting next." Lance shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled proudly. He then turned around and walked into the generator room. The team followed Lance inside.

"Oh no!" Togi brought a hand up to her mouth in shock.

"That's sick!" Ray took a step forward angrily.

"That's torture!" Ta'jean brought his fists up.

Aaron shook his head sadly.

James let out a faint growl.

"You have to be kidding!" I was completely alarmed. At the end of each of the glass tubes, there was an electrode, captured by a magnetic field, getting all of its energy drained. They were using pokemon as a source of power.

"We have to kill them," Lance told Lyra in a monotone voice.

"What?! You're kidding me! I refuse to kill any pokemon on purpose!" Lyra was yelling with a hint of panic in her voice.

"Look at them. They are suffering. There is nothing else we can do. If we just make them faint, they will still be trapped in the magnetic field and will still have their energy sucked when they revive." Lance took Lyra's hand. "It is the only thing we can do."

Lyra hid her face in her hands but nodded none the less. "Okay. Okay. That makes sense…" She brought her face out of her hands, tear trails ran down her cheeks. "Think we can do this team?"

Everyone looked at Lyra and slowly nodded. No one actually wanted to, but we knew it was for the best.

….

Lyra sat down inside the souvenir shop, cupping her face in her hands. The whole building was nearly pitch black now, the only light was that which came from the door leading outside. The team stood around her, each with a hand on her back, none of us were speaking.

Lance stood in front of Lyra. "You did good kid. Try not to cry as much next time."

Lyra bolted up to her feet. "Well _sorry_ that I'm not use to killing pokemon in cold blood all the time like you are!"

Lance put a hand on her shoulder, keeping his cool the whole time. "I don't kill often, and rarely ever on purpose like that. Just breathe Lyra. Look, your team is still here, and they need you to be strong and lead them, the way a trainer should. Just cool down and relax. You should take on the Mahogany Town gym. It might help you get back into your normal routine."

Lyra looked at Lance with watering eyes. "O-okay…"

"Good." Lance smiled and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Lyra said, reaching a hand out to Lance, as if she wanted to say something important.

"Yes?" Lance asked, turing around.

"How come you act like such a dick, but you actually have some really nice things to say?" Lyra had her hands on her hips and had a smirk on her face.

Lance let out a deep laugh. "Being a dick, its much more fun." Lance winked then walked out the door.


	40. Chapter 39

We entered the Mahogany Town gym just as the sun was starting to set in the sky. The whole team had no problem at all charging through the gym and completely destroying everything. We had gained so much experience from all the previous events that day that even the gym leader, Pryce, was no challenge at all.

It was nice going through a gym again. It felt like we were getting back into the normal routine of things.

By the time we exited the gym, the sun had just dipped below the horizon line. "Well guys, looks like its time to hit the hay." Lyra stretched her arm behind her back. "Sound good?"

"Sounds great!" Ta'jean said enthusiastically.

"After everything that has happened today, yeah that sounds kinda nice." Ray wobbled on his feet, his eyes half mast. He leaned a little to the right and rested his head on Ta'jean's arm. He closed his eyes completely, seeming to enjoy the feeling. "Real nice…"

Ta'jean looked down at Ray and smiled. He brought his right hand up and ruffled Ray's hair. "Don't be going to sleep yet, kid. We still have to reach the room."

Ray looked up at Ta'jean and flashed a wide, toothy smile. "No promises."

The team took off towards the pokemon center; Lyra in the lead followed by Ta'jean and Ray, then Aaron and Togi, then James, and I was last. I found it a little odd that James was so far away from Lyra. It was most likely because he didn't even plan to go into the pokemon center with them, but to just wander off instead. I decided that now was the best time.

I increased my walking pace until I was next to James. He noticed my presence and looked down at me. His eyes grew wide when he realized who it was and his gaze drifted away in another direction. "You've got to be kidding me," I muttered.

I hooked my arm around James's and dragged him away from the team. It wasn't like either of us were going to sleep tonight anyway.

"Kenji! What the hell?!" James hissed. He was keeping the volume of his voice down while the team was still in hearing range.

"Please James, you know we need to talk!" I whispered back to him.

James opened his mouth as if to protest, then closed it and looked away from me. "Where do you want to go?"

"You'll see," I said, still keeping my arm around James's, now walking up route 43.

There was an unbearable awkward silence as we walked. I was zoning out, thinking about what to say, and I assumed James was doing the same thing. A chatty flock of noctowl flew overhead, snapping me out of my trance.

"You do know we can talk while we walk," I said a little quietly, trying to slowly break the silence.

James looked at me and then looked away. For a second, I thought he wasn't going to say anything, and that the night would be terrible. But he finally opened his mouth. "Yes… I know."

"Then…" I started, nudging James in the side with my elbow, trying to get him to talk.

James looked down at me, his golden eyes piercing my soul, telling me to stop pestering.

"Right…sorry…" I lowered my arm and kept walking. After a few more steps I decided to try again. "So…what is up with the way you have been acting lately?"

This seemed to hit a button that was never suppose to be touched. "What's up with me?! Really?! What's up with you!?"

The harsh tone in his voice made me flinch. I cowered a little, ears pressed down tight and tail between my legs. "I…don't know what you're-"

"Yeah right, Kenji! I am over here, trying my hardest, doing everything in my power to just try to hold you once! Though all the arguments, all the ups and downs, I was finally able to get ahold of you! Then you deny it! I mean, fuck! You're killing me over here! How else am I suppose to act when you keep pulling me in then pushing me away!" James's eyes were wide with rage. He was staring me down.

I couldn't keep his gaze. I was so scared, but not just that. I was angry too. Angry that James didn't understand my situation. Angry that he blamed it all on me. Angry that he wasn't even giving me a chance to defend myself.

"I…its just…" I started, but couldn't come up with the right words to say.

"What? You what?! Please Kenji, enlighten me! Cause I would be pretty fucking psyched to hear your excuse!"

"Excuse? Thats not-"

"If its not an excuse, then what they hell is it?! It better be something marvelous since you dragged my ass out this far! I mean why are we even so far away from the center?! Fuck Kenji, I don't even know what to do with you any more!"

I felt a red hot anger pool up in my stomach. "_SHUT _UP!" I screamed, fire leaped from my mouth, dying out when it landed on James's scales and burning small patches of the grass around us.

Standing up straight, I was nearly as tall as James, but right now, I felt as if I was as tall as a tree. James was the one cowering now, unsure how to react to my newfound anger. His golden eyes shown an emotion I don't think I had ever seen in them before: fear.

"Shit…" I muttered and finally stopped staring James down. I sighed and sunk down to the floor, tucking my knees into my chest. That one wave of intimidation took a lot out of me. It was hard to believe it even worked. But now the side effect was kicking in, and I felt the tears threatening to pour out of my eyes. I lifted my hand and wiped away one that had escaped. "And I took you out here cause the Lake of Rage is the closest body of water to Mahogany Town…and you like water…and shit…so I thought it might help."

James scratched the back of his neck and sighed. "Now I feel like an asshole…" he muttered. He sat down next to me and it was silent for a minute. "The Lake of Rage, huh? Is that what that is?" He pointed a finger out in front of him. There was a decent sized body of water a few strides away from us.

"Yeah…" I nodded.

James shifted awkwardly, not knowing what to say next. "Listen…thanks… you know… for trying to make it better and everything. And I'm sorry… and all of that… for losing my temper."

I shifted my legs, letting them stretch out in front of me. "Its fine… Sorry about the whole yelling and fire thing." I looked forward at a patch of grass that was still smoking slightly. I stepped on it with my foot, feeling the warmth diminish beneath it. James nodded it off. "Hey, remember when we first met?" James asked, looking out towards the water.

"You mean back when we would fight 24/7?" I smiled a little remembering how childish the two of us were back then.

"Yeah. This kinda reminded me of how were acted back then. You know, just minus the scars." James brushed a hand over his cheek while mine touched my shoulder.

"Its kinda like…we branded each other in the beginning. Like we were claiming each other."

"It was more of a sign to tell others to back off, that only I got to kick your ass." James smiled and leaned back into the grass. "But man, I think that was my way of telling you I liked you."

"You liked me back then? You tried to kill me!" I looked down at James, shocked at this.

"Yeah…" James let his eyes drift in another direction innocently. "I'm not very good at conveying my emotions…"

I let out a laugh, a real laugh, and it felt great. "Yeah I can tell."

James pushed at me with his hand, letting out a deep chuckle too.

There was silence again, but this time it was nice. I let my back fall down to the grass, feeling my body relax. It was such a nice feeling after such a long day.

"You aren't the best at that either you know." James turned on his side towards me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, turning so I was facing James. I had a pretty good idea what James was talking about, but I wanted to avoid it for as long as possible.

A smile creeped up on James's face. "You're a bad liar. You know exactly what I am talking about. Why are you so scared to act so close with me around the team?"

I shifted uncomfortably. "Remember how I said it was chosen who I was to mate with in my pack?"

James nodded. "Yeah. And that's what lead to you run away."

"Well there is more to it than just that. When my father approached me with a new mate, I told him I couldn't mate with her. When he asked why, I told him it was because I only like males, not females." I remembered how my father's face completely changed towards me that day. His usual smile turned into a scowl whenever he saw me.

I turned away from James, leaving my back facing him, mostly because I didn't want him to see me cry. "After that, my father disowned me, and the rest of the pack did as well. I was practically an outcast. Others in the pack would beat me mercilessly. I remember one time, I was being beaten. It was one of the worst times and I feared that I would die. I just had to close my eyes and wait for it to pass. When I finally felt the kicks, punches, and bites stop, I opened my eyes and looked up. My father was there, staring at those hurting me. Instead of stopping them, he nodded his head and then turned away. Those around me simply shrugged and went back to beating me. It was like I wasn't even his son anymore!"

I felt the tears coming and I wanted to hold them back, but my body began to shake and soon they came out anyway.

"Kenji?" James's voice was soft. I felt his hand touch my shoulder, but I refused to turn around. My face was soaked with tears and I did not want him to see.

"Kenji…" James's arm wrapped around me and brought me close to him. "I'm sorry. I had no idea."

I buried my face is his scaled arm. "Its…its okay…"

James tightened his grip around me, pressing his body right up against mine. The closeness was comforting and I was easily able to calm down with James next to me. Soon the tears stopped. I just hugged onto his arm. Not wanting to let go, not wanting to be separated from the closeness that I hadn't felt in so long.

"Kenji…please face me."

I turned over on my side so I was now facing James. Those great golden eyes that could so easily scare anything small away were now filled with sadness. "James…" I whispered, and pressed my hand to his cheek.

James smiled and cupped my face in his hands. I closed my eyes and focused on his touch.

"Hey, Kenji…"

"Mmm?" I kept my eyes closed and moved my head a little in his hands.

"Kenji…I…I love you."

**Phew that was a long chapter! And the next one is going to be just as long! The next one may take me a week or so to get up because I am going to be writing something I have never written before. So it will be interesting to see how that comes out.**

**Anyway! Thank you all for coming this far! It means a lot! **

**Reviews are always enjoyed! :D **


	41. Chapter 40

My eyes snapped open and I bolted up to my feet. "W-what?!" My face grew hot and I knew my ears were red with blush.

"I love you Kenji," James said again, this time with more confidence. "You are over here telling me about your past, I feel bad for you, and then you try to comfort me. You're great." James smiled, sitting up. "I love you," he said again.

"I heard you the first time." I waved my hand in front of my face and then began to pace back and fourth. Love. That word hit me like a Hydro Pump to the face. I had no idea what it meant to love someone, how one was even suppose to love another. I scratched my head, then threw my hands angrily to my sides, unsure how to respond.

"Are you okay there?" James asked, a small smile still on his face. He was enjoying seeing me flustered.

"F-fine! I'm fine. And I guess…I guess I kinda…" I reached up and scratched my neck then brought my hands down to my arms and rubbed them. "I kinda…sorta…like you a lot…too…" I finally stopped pacing and dropped my arms to my sides. I let my head hang, hoping my hair covered up my embarrassed expression.

I didn't hear James get up, so it nearly shocked me to death when I felt his hand on my head, scratching behind my ears. "You can hide your face, but you can't hide these." He started rubbing my ears. The rubbing felt good, a little too good, and I bit my lip to try and keep any noises inside.

I lifted my head and looked James in the eyes. His eyes grew wide, then he smiled wide. "That's a lovely expression you have there, Kenji. Does this feel good?" James lifted his other hand to my head, rubbing both my ears at the same time.

I opened my mouth to protest, but right as I did, James rubbed his thumbs around the base of my ears. The only thing that came out of my mouth was a soft moan.

I quickly snapped my hands to my mouth, hoping James hadn't heard the sound at all. But that big stupid grin on his face told me he had. I tired to think of something, anything, to say, but my mind just drew a blank.

I could have sworn James was going to say something making fun of me, but instead he pulled my body close to his and kissed me deeply. I tried to keep a level head, but soon I was lost in the kiss, wrapping my arms around James's shoulders.

James's hands traveled down from my head to my shoulders. He pulled me in closer, completely closing the space between our bodies. I had to pull back soon after though, panting for breath, trying to cool down from the heat generated.

James smiled, seeming like he enjoyed what he saw, and pulled me in close. I leaned into him so my head rested on his chest. I was so hot, even for a Fire type, but I didn't want to give up this closeness.

James shifted his head, leaning his chin on the top of my head. His mouth was so close to my ear. I could hear him breathing in and out slowly, as if he was trying to calm himself. Finally, he let out a chuckle. "You should have seen your face, Kenji. It was nice."

I drew back and looked up at James. He had a wide smile on his face. "Really damn nice," he said. He brought his face down to mine, our lips nearly touching. "I wonder what else I could do to make you show that face," he whispered.

I shifted a little awkwardly, unsure if the words I wanted to say would come out right. "I…wouldn't mind…making that face for you…again…" I let my eyes drop to the ground while I was talking, but brought them up again to see the look on James's face.

His eyes were wide and his mouth was agape. He looked completely shocked. He was most likely expecting a battle, but I liked the feeling I got when I was around him, so I didn't mind complying.

"R-really?" James asked, still too shocked for his own good.

"Oh! But you have to work for it!" I wasn't going to completely give in. I still had to retain some of my natural stubbornness.

James smiled in a way that made the word 'sexy' pop into my head. "Can do."

I gulped.

…..

We were down on the grass, bodies tangled together, hands feeling all over, heat rising from us and warming the surrounding air. We were joined at the lips, and had been for a while, sharing a kiss that could say more than we ever could.

James's hands traveled across my chest and sometimes went lower, stroking my thigh. But he never paid any attention to the one area that begged for it. I knew he was doing it on purpose too, teasing me. How typical of him. I growled into the kiss, opening my eyes and glaring. James smiled against my lips, still keeping his eyes shut. He brought his hand up the length of my thigh, then let it travel back down. I growled again. There was a heat building up in my groin, which was begging to be touched by hands other than mine.

Without breaking the kiss, I brought a hand up to James's face. I took it away for a second, then slapped it back to his cheek.

James finally broke the kiss, lifting his head up, looking down at me. He lifted an eyebrow, looking like he was about to laugh. "Getting a little impatient are we?"

"You're being a tease," I hissed.

James chuckled. "Would you rather me be more straight forward?" His hand shot straight down and grabbed my length.

I gasped. James's hand was as cold as the ocean, and it was such a drastic difference from the inferno that burned inside of me.

I moaned as James started to pump his hand up and down, occasionally bucking up my hips. I heard James laugh again. "Guess you do like me being straight forward."

I growled and pulled James down onto me, deeply kissing him. I felt his lips curl into a smile on top of mine before he returned the kiss. He still continued to stroke me, and I couldn't kiss as well with the distraction. All my attention was on the hand touching me where I craved it the most.

James pulled his face away from mine. His eyes were greedy and they looked up and down my body, taking in every detail that could be seen. I felt exposed and embarrassed.

"D-don't look at me like that." I pressed my blushing ears down to my head.

"Why not?" James asked. He removed his hand from my body. I whined a little at the lack of friction. James smiled, dropping his face down so it was next to mine. "You are beautiful. I want to look at you."

James brought his body down slowly, resting his erection on top of my own. I let a moan escape my lips. _This_ part of him wasn't cold at all.

I slowly rolled my hips forward and this time it was James making the noises. I looked up at him and nearly couldn't look away. This was a side of him I had never seen before, and one I really enjoyed seeing. His back was arched slightly and his head was thrown back, eyes shut tight. Cool sweat glistened on his scales, making his blue body shimmer in the moon light. His claws firmly gripped my side as he rolled his hips to meet with mine.

I smiled and flipped our position so James was underneath me. "Hey! Wha-! Ah…mmmmm…" I moved slightly again and all the words were taken out of his mouth.

I smirked. "I think I like it better like this." I brought my hands down along James's body, feeling every curve of it before I wrapped my hand around both our erections.

James moaned loudly. I smiled. To think that I could actually make someone like him make these nosies.

I brought my face down and covered James's mouth with my own, muffling the noises he was making. I started to increase the speed at which I moved my hand. I knew this wouldn't last much longer. I was almost over the edge.

I broke the kiss, panting, looking down at James's face. He looked back at me for a brief second before bringing his arms around me and burying his face in my neck. "I'm… close…" he said into the crook of my neck, breathing heavily in between the two words.

"Me too…" I said breathily. I started moving faster.

James let out a loud moan, bucking his hips, and finally came. I followed not long after. I fell on top of him, then rolled off.

We lay there next to each other, panting. I looked up at the stars and a wide smile crossed my face. I began to laugh.

"What?" James asked, turning on his side to face me. There was a smile on his face too.

"Sure as hell didn't expect tonight to turn out like this."

"Really?" James asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"But I'm glad it did." I grabbed James's hand in my own and leaned forward and kissed him.

James smiled. "Me too."

**Whelps. That was a lot harder to get out than I thought it would be. That was my very first attempt at writing anything smut like at all. It seems like it would be so much easier DX Anyway, sorry if this isn't up to par with what you were expecting. **

**Oh! And thanks to Eeveechamp for leaving the review! They are always appreciated :)**


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